




























































































































































/ 



i 



ROBERT SOUT 

t\ c_ 

POET LAU 


THE 

OF NE 


TWELFTH EDITION. 

LONDON: 

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET; 

AND 

ILLIAM TEGG AND Co., 85, QUEEN STREET, 
CHEAPSIDE. 

M.DCCC.LIII. 

I Q! L S 










J. HADDON AND SON, VRkATERS, CASTLE STREET, FINSBURY, 



JOHN WILSON CROKER, ESQ., LL.D., F.R.S. 

SECRETARY OF THE ADMIRALTY; 

WHO, 

BY THE OFFICIAL SITUATION WHICH HE SO ABLY FILLS, 

I* QUALIFIED 

TO APPRECIATE ITS HISTORICAL ACCURACY ; 

AND WHO, 

AS A MEMBER OF THE REPUBLIC OF LETTERS, 
is 

EQUALLY QUALIFIED TO DECIDE UPON ITS LITERARY MERITS, 

Volume 

IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY HIS FRfEND, 


THE AUTHOR. 






Navy Dep f ' 


< 


/ e 


1882 


HAH 




CONTENTS. 

—«— 

/ 

CHAPTER I. pa'jE 

Nelson’s Birth and Boyhood—He is entered on Board the 
Raisonnable—Goes to the West Indies in a Merchant-ship ; 
then serves in the Triumph—He sails in Captain Phipps’ 
Voyage of Discovery—Goes to the East Indies in the Sea¬ 
horse, and returns in ill health—Serves as acting Lieu¬ 
tenant in the Worcester, and is made Lieutenant into the 
Lowestoffe, Commander into the Badger Brig, and Post 
into the Hinchinbrook—Expedition against the Spanish 
Main—Sent to the North Seas in the Albemarle—Services 
during the American War. . .... 3 


CHAPTER II. 

Nelson goes to France during the Peace—Re-appointed to the 
Boreas, and stationed at the Leeward Islands—His firm con¬ 
duct concerning the American interlopers and the con¬ 
tractors—Marries and returns to England—Is on the point 
of quitting the service in disgust—Manner of life while un¬ 
employed—Appointed to the Agamemnon on the breaking 
out of the War of the French Revolution . . .34 


CHAPTER III. 

The Agamemnon sent to the Mediterranean—Commencement 
of Nelson's acquaintance with Sir William Hamilton—He 
is sent to Corsica, to co-operate with Paoli—State of affairs 





VI 


CONTENTS. 


PAGK 


in that Island—Nelson undertakes the siege of Bastia, and 
reduces it—Takes a distinguished part in the siege of Calvi, 
where ho loses an eye—Admiral Hotham’s action—The 
Agamemnon ordered to Genoa, to co-operate with the 
Austrian and Sardinian forces—Gross misconduct of the 
Austrian General . . . ■> . . .57 

CHAPTER IV. 

Sir J. Jervis takes the command—Genoa joins the French— 
Buonaparte begins his career—Evacuation of Corsica—Nel¬ 
son hoists his broad pendant in the Minerve—Action with 
the Sabina—Battle off Cape St. Vincent—Nelson com¬ 
mands the inner Squadron at the blockade of Cadiz—Boat 
action in the Bay of Cadiz—Expedition against Teneriffe— 
Nelson loses an arm—His sufferings in England, and 
recovery ......... 98 

CHAPTER V. 

Nelson rejoins Earl St. Vincent in the Vanguard—Sails in pur¬ 
suit of the French to Egypt—Returns to Sicily, and sails 
again to Egypt—Battle of the Nile .... 131 

CHAPTER VI. 

Nelson returns to Naples—State of that Court and King¬ 
dom—General Mack—The French approach Naples— 
Flight of the Royal Family—Successes of the Allies in 
Italy—Transactions in the Bay of Naples—Expulsion of 
the French from the Neapolitan and Roman States— 
Nelson is made duke of Bronte—He leaves the Mediter¬ 
ranean and returns to England ..... 168 




CONTENTS. 


vii 


CHAPTER VII. 


PAGE 


Nelson separates himself from his wife—Northern Confederacy 
—He goes to the Baltic, under Sir Hyde Parker—Battle 
of Copenhagen, and subsequent Negotiation—Nelson is 
made a Viscount ........ 225 


CHAPTER VIII. 

Sir Hyde Parker is recalled, and Nelson appointed com¬ 
mander— He goes to Revel—Settlement of Affairs in 
the Baltic—Unsuccessful Attempt upon the Flotilla at 
Boulogne — Peace of Amiens—Nelson takes the com¬ 
mand in the Mediterranean on the renewal of the War 
—Escape of the Toulon Fleet—Nelson chases them to 
the West Indies and back—Delivers up his Squadron 
to Admiral Cornwallis, and lands in England.26 7 

CHAPTER IX. 

Sir Robert Calder falls in with the combined Fleets—They 
form a Junction with the Ferrol Squadron, and get into 
Cadiz—Nelson is reappointed to the command—Battle 
of Trafalgar—Victory, and Death of Nelson.. . . 318 









LIST OF WOODCUTS 


HEAD OF NELSON .... 

NELSON IN PURSUIT OF A BEAK 

BOARDING THE BATTERY .... 
NELSON ON THE QUARTER-DECK OF THE SAN JOSKTB 
BOAT ACTION IN THE BAY OF CADIZ 
BATTLE OF THE NILE . ' . . 

NELSON WRITING TO THE CROWN PRINCE OF DENMARK 
BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR, AND DEATH OF NELSON . 


PAGE 

. Title 

11 

. 24 

. 113 

. 117 

. 153 

. 253 

. 339 







THE 


LIFE OF NELSON. 





Many lives of Nelson have been written : one is yet wanting, 
clear and concise enough to become a manual for the young 
sailor, which he may carry about with him, till he has treasured 
up the example in his memory and in his heart. In attempting 
such a work, I shall write the eulogy of our great naval Hero 
for the best eulogy of Nelson is the faithful history of hi 
actions : and the best h'story must be that which shall relatf 
them most perspicuously. 





THE 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


CHAPTER I. 

Nelson’s Birth and Boyhood—He is entered on board the Raison- 
liable—Goes to the West Indies in a Merchant-ship ; then 
serves in the Triumph—He sails in Capt. Phipps’s Voyage of 
Discovery—Goes to the East Indies in the Seahorse, and returns 
in ill health—Serves as acting Lieutenant in the Worcester, and 
a is made Lieutenant into the Lowestoffe, Commander into the 
Badger Brig, and Post into the Hinchinbrook—Expedition against 
the Spanish Main—Sent to the North Seas in the Albemarle— 
Services during the American War. 

Horatio, son of Edmund and Catherine Nelson, 
was born Sept. 29, 1758, in the parsonage house 
of Burnham Thorpe, a village in the county of 
Norfolk, of which his father was rector. The 
maiden name of his mother was Suckling : her 
grandmother was an elder sister of Sir Robert 
Walpole, and this child was named after his god¬ 
father, the first Lord Walpole. Mrs. Nelson died 
in 1767, leaving eight, out of eleven children. 
Her brother, Capt. Maurice Suckling, of the navy, 
visited the widower upon this event, and promised 
to take care of one of the boys. Three years after¬ 
wards, when Horatio was only twelve years of 
age, being at home during the Christmas holidays, 
he read in the county newspaper that his uncle was 






i 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


appointed to the Raisonnable, of sixty-four guns. 
“ Do, William,” said he to a brother who was a 
year and a half older than himself, “ write to my 
father, and tell him that I should like to go to sea 
with uncle Maurice.” Mr. Nelson was then at 
Bath, whither he had gone for the recovery of his 
health : his circumstances were straitened, and he 
had no prospect of ever seeing them bettered : he 
knew that it was the wish of providing for himself 
by which Horatio was chiefly actuated; and did 
not oppose his resolution; he understood also the 
boy’s character, and had always said, that in what¬ 
ever station he might be placed, he would climb 
if possible to the very top of the tree. Accord¬ 
ingly Capt. Suckling was written to. “ What,” 
said he in his answer, “ has poor Horatio done, who 
is so weak, that he, above all the rest, should be 
sent to rough it out at sea?—But let him come; 
and the first time we go into action, a cannon-ball 

may knock off his head, and provide for him at 
>> 


once. 

It is manifest from these words, that Horatio 
was not the boy whom his uncle would have chosen 
to bring up in his own profession. He was never 
of a strong body; and the ague, which at that 
time was one of the most common diseases in 
England, had greatly reduced his strength; yet 
he had already given proofs of that resolute heart 
and nobleness of mind, which, during his whole 
career of labour and of glory, so eminently distin¬ 
guished him. When a mere child, he strayed a 
bird’s-nesting from his grandmother’s house in 
company with a cow-boy; the dinner-hour elapsed; 
Ire was absent, and could not be found ; and the 





LIFE OF NELSON. 


5 


alarm of the family became very great, for they 
apprehended that he might have been carried off 
by gipsies. At length, after search had been made 
for him in various directions, he was discovered, 
alone, sitting composedly by the side of a brook 
which he could not get over. “ I wonder, child,” 
said the old lady when she saw him, “that hunger 
and fear did not drive you home.”—“ Fear ! grand- 
mama,” replied the future hero, “ I never saw 
fear:—What is it?” Once, after the winter holi¬ 
days, when he and his brother William had set off 
on horseback to return to school, they came back, 
because there had been a fall of snow ; and William, 
who did not much like the journey, said it was 
too deep for them to venture on. “ If that be the 
case,” said the father, “ you certainly shall not go ; 
but make another attempt, and I will leave it to 
your honour. If the road is dangerous, you may 
return: but remember, boys, I leave it to your 
honour! ” The snow w T as deep enough to have 
afforded them a reasonable excuse; but Horatio 
was not to be prevailed upon to turn back. “ We 
must go on,” said he: “ remember, brother, it was 
left to our honour !”—There were some fine pears 
growing in the schoolmasters garden, which the 
boys regarded as lawful booty, and in the highest 
degree tempting; but the boldest among them 
were afraid to venture for the prize. Horatio 
volunteered upon this service : he was lowered down 
at night from the bedroom window by some sheets, 
plundered the tree, was drawn up with the pears, 
and then distributed them among his school-fellows 
without reserving any for himself.—“ He only took 
them,” he said, “ because every other boy was afraid,” 


0 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


[1771. 

Early on a cold and dark spring morning Mr. 
Nelson’s servant arrived at this school, at North 
Walsham, with the expected summons for Horatio 
to join his ship. The parting from his brother 
William, who had been for so many years his play¬ 
mate and bed-fellow, was a painful effort, and was 
the beginning of those privations which are the 
sailor’s lot through life. He accompanied his father 
to London. The Raisonnable was lying in the Med¬ 
way. He was put into the Chatham stage, and 
on its arrival w;as set down with the rest of the 
passengers, and left to find his way on board as he 
could. After wandering about in the cold, without 
being able to reach the ship, an officer observed the 
forlorn appearance of the boy, questioned him ; 
and, happening to be acquainted with his uncle, 
took him home and gave him some refreshments. 
—When he got on board, Capt. Suckling was 
not in the ship, nor had any person been apprised 
of the boy’s coming. He paced the deck the 
whole remainder of the day, without being noticed 
by any one ; and it w'as not till the second day 
that somebody, as he expressed it, “ took com¬ 
passion on him.” The pain which is felt when 
we are first transplanted from our native soil, when 
the living branch is cut from the parent tree,—is 
one of the most poignant which we have to endure 
through life. There are after griefs which wound 
more deeply, which leave behind them scars never 
to be effaced, which bruise the spirit, and some¬ 
times break the heart: but never do we feel so 
keenly the want of love, the necessity of being 
loved, and the sense of utter desertion, as when 
w r e first leave the haven of home, and are, as it 





LIFE OF NELSON. 


1771.] LIFE OF NELSON. 7 

were, pushed off upon the stream of life. Added 
to these feelings, the sea-boy has to endure physical 
hardships, and the privation of every comfort, even 
of sleep. Nelson had a feeble body and an affec¬ 
tionate heart, and he remembered through life his 
first days of wretchedness in the service. 

The Raisonnable having been commissioned on 
account of the dispute respecting the Falkland 
Islands, was paid off as soon as the difference with 
the court of Spain was accommodated, and Capt. 
Suckling was removed to the Triumph, seventy-four, 
then stationed as a guardship in the Thames. This 
was considered as too inactive a life for a boy, and 
Nelson was therefore sent a voyage to the West 
Indies in a merchant-ship, commanded by Mr. John 
Rathbone, an excellent seaman, who had served 
as master’s mate under Capt. Suckling, in the 
Dreadnought. He returned a practical seaman, 
but with a hatred of the king’s service, and a say¬ 
ing then common among the sailors—“ aft the most 
honour ; forward the better man.” Rathbone had 
probably been disappointed and disgusted in the 
navy; and, with no unfriendly intentions, warned 
Nelson against a profession which he himself had 
found hopeless. His uncle received him on board 
the Triumph on his return, and discovering his 
dislike to the navy, took the beast means of reconcil¬ 
ing him to it. He held it out as a reward, that if 
he attended well to his navigation, he should go in 
the cutter and decked long-boat, which was attached 
to the commanding-officer’s ship at Chatham. Thus 
he became a good pilot for vessels of that description, 
from Chatham to the Tower, and down the Swin 
Channel to the North Foreland, and acquired a 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


8 


[1772. 


confidence among rocks and sands, of which he 
often felt the value. 

Nelson had not been many months on board the 
Triumph, when his love of enterprise was excited 
by hearing that two ships were fitting out for a 
voyage of discovery toward the North Pole. In 
consequence of the difficulties which were expected 
on such a service, these vessels were to take out 
effective men instead of the usual number of bojs. 
This, however, did not deter him from soliciting to 
be received, and, by his uncle’s interest, he was 
admitted as coxswain under Capt. Lutwidge, second 
in command. The voyage was undertaken in com¬ 
pliance with an application from the Royal Society. 
The Hon. Capt. Constantine John Phipps, eldest 
son of Lord Mulgrave, volunteered his services. 
The Racehorse and Carcass bombs were selected, 
as the strongest ships, and, therefore, best adapted 
for such a voyage; and they were taken into dock 
and strengthened, to render them as secure as pos¬ 
sible against the ice. Two masters of Greenland- 
men were employed as pilots for each ship. No 
expedition was ever more carefully fitted out; and 
the first Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Sandwich, 
with a laudable solicitude, went on board himself, 
before their departure, to see that everything had 
been completed to the wish of the officers. The 
ships were provided with a simple and excellent 
apparatus for distilling fresh from salt water, the 
invention of Dr. Irving, who accompanied the 
expedition. It consisted merely in fitting a tube to 
the ship’s kettle, and applying a wet mop to the sur¬ 
face, as the vapour was passing. By these means, from 
thirty-four to forty gallons were produced every day. 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


I7f3.]] LIFE OF NELSON. 9 

They sailed from the Nore on the 4th of June : 
on the 6th of the following month they were in 
lat. 79° 56' 39" ; long. 9° 43' 30" E. The next 
day, about the place where most of the old dis¬ 
coverers had been stopped, the Racehorse was beset 
with ice ; but they hove her through with ice 
anchors. Capt. Phipps continued ranging along 
the ice, northward and westward, till the 24th ; 
he then tried to the eastward. On the 30th he 
was in lat. 80° 13'; long. 18° 48' E. among the 
islands and in the ice, with no appearance of an 
opening for the ships. The weather was exceed¬ 
ingly fine, mild, and unusually clear. Here they 
were becalmed in a large bay, with three apparent 
openings between the islands which formed it; but 
everywhere, as far as they could see, surrounded 
with ice. There was not a breath of air, the water 
was perfectly smooth, the ice covered with snow, 
low and even, except a few broken pieces, near 
the edge; and the pools of water in the middle of 
the ice-fields just crusted over with young ice. 
On the next day the ice closed upon them, and 
no opening was to be seen anywhere, except a 
hole or lake, as it might be called, of about a mile 
and a half in circumference, where the ships lay fast 
to the ice with their ice-anchors. From these 
ice-fields they filled their casks with water, which 
was very pure and soft. The men were playing 
on the ice all day ; but the Greenland pilots, who 
were further than they had ever been before, and 
considered that the season was far advancing, w^ere 
alarmed at being thus beset. 

The next day there was not the smallest open¬ 
ing, the ships were within less than two lengths of 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


10 


D*. 


each other, separated by ice, and neither having 
room to turn. The ice, which the day before had 
been flat, and almost level with the water’s edge, 
was now in many places forced higher than the 
mainyard, by the pieces squeezing together. A 
day of thick fog followed : it was succeeded by 
clear weather; but the passage by which the ships 
had entered from the westward was closed, and no 
open water was in sight, either in that or any other 
quarter. By the pilots’ advice the men were set 
to cut a passage and warp through the small open¬ 
ings to the westward. They sawed through pieces 
of ice twelve feet thick ; and this labour continued 
the whole day, during which their utmost efforts 
did not move the ships above three hundred yards ; 
while they were driven, together with the ice, for 
to the N. E. and E. by the current. Sometimes 
a field of several acres square would be lifted up 
between two larger islands, and incorporated with 
them ; and thus these larger pieces continued to 
grow by aggregation. Another day passed, and 
there seemed no probability of getting the ships 
out, without a strong E. or N. E. wind. The 
season was far advanced, and every hour lessened 
the chance of extricating themselves. Young as 
he was, Nelson was appointed to command one or 
the boats which were sent out to explore a passage 
into the open water. It was the means of saving 
a boat belonging to the Racehorse from a singular 
but imminent danger. Some of the officers had 
fired at and wounded a walrus. As no other ani¬ 
mal has so human-like an expression in its counte¬ 
nance, so also is there none that seems to possess 
more of the passions of humanity. The wounded 








LIFE OF NELSON 


11 


1773.] 

animal dived immediately, and brought up a num¬ 
ber of its companions ; and they all joined in an 
attack upon the boat. They wrested an oar from 
one of the men; and it was with the utmost diffi¬ 
culty that the crew could prevent them from staving 
or upsetting her, till the Carcass’s boat came up : 
and the walruses, finding their enemies thus rein¬ 
forced, dispersed. Young Nelson exposed himself 
in a more daring manner. One night, during the 
mid-watch, he stole from the ship with one of his 
comrades, taking advantage of a rising fog, and 
set oft’ over the ice in pursuit of a bear. It was 
not long before they were missed. The fog thick¬ 
ened, and Capt. Lutwidge and his officers became 
exceedingly alarmed for their safety. Between 
three and four in the morning the weather cleared, 
and the two adventurers were seen, at a consider¬ 
able distance from the ship, attacking a huge bear 




















LIFE OF NELSON. 


12 


[1773. 


The signal for them to return was immediately 
made : Nelson’s comrade called upon him to obey 
it, but in vain ; his musket had flashed in the pan; 
their ammunition was expended ; and a chasm in 
the ice, which divided him from the bear, probably 
preserved his life. “ Never mind,” he cried ; “ do 
but let me get a blow at this devil with the but- 
end of my musket, and we shall have him.” Capt. 
Lutwidge, however, seeing his danger, fired a gun, 
which had the desired effect of frightening the 
beast; and the boy then returned, somewhat afraid 
of the consequences of his trespass. The captain 
reprimanded him sternly for conduct so unworthy 
of the office which he filled, and desired to know 
what motive he could have for hunting a bear. 
“ Sir,” said he, pouting his lip, as he was wont to 
do when agitated, “ I wished to kill the bear, that 
I might carry the skin to my father.” 

A party were now sent to an island, about 
twelve miles off* (named Walden’s Island in the 
charts, from the midshipman who was intrusted 
with this service), to see w’here the open water lav. 
They came back with information, that the ice, 
though close all about them, was open to the west¬ 
ward, round the point by which they came in. 
They said also, that upon the island they had had 
a fresh east wind. This intelligence considerably 
abated the hopes of the crew ; for where they lay 
it had been almost calm, and their main depen¬ 
dence had been upon the effect of an easterly 
wind in clearing the bay. There was but one 
alternative ; either to wait the event of the wea¬ 
ther upon the ships, or to betake themselves to 
the boats. The likelihood that it might be neces- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1773 .] 


13 


sary to sacrifice the ships had been foreseen ; the 
boats, accordingly, were adapted, both in number 
and size, to transport, in case of emergency, the 
whole crew; and there were Dutch whalers upon 
the coast, in which they could all be conveyed 
to Europe. As for wintering where they were, 
that dreadful experiment had been already tried 
too often. No time was to be lost; the ships 
had driven into shoal water, having but fourteen 
fathoms. Should they, or the ice to which they 
were fast, take the ground, they must inevitably be 
lost: and at this time they were driving fast toward 
some rocks on the N. E. Capt. Phipps sent for the 
officers of both ships, and told them his intention of 
preparing the boats for going away. They were 
immediately hoisted out, and the fitting begun. 
Canvas bread-bags were made, in case it should be 
necessary suddenly to desert the vessels; and men 
were sent with the lead and line to the northward 
and eastward, to sound wherever they found cracks 
in the ice, that they might have notice before the 
ice took the ground ; for, in that case, the ships 
must instantly have been crushed or overset. 

On the 7th of August they began to haul the 
boats over the ice, Nelson having command of a 
four-oared cutter. The men behaved excellently 
well, like true British seamen : they seemed recon¬ 
ciled to the thought of leaving the ships, and had 
full confidence in their officers. About noon, the 
ice appeared rather more open near the vessels ; and 
as the wind was easterly, though there was but little 
of it, the sails were set, and they got about a mile to 
the westward. They moved very slowly, and were 
not now nearly so far to the westward as when they 


' 

14 LIFE OF NELSON. £l773. 

were first beset. However, all sail was kept upon 
them, to force them through whenever the ice 
slacked the least. Whatever exertions were made, 
it could not be possible to get the boats to the 
waters edge before the 14th ; and if the situation of 
the ships should not alter by that time, it would 
not be justifiable to stay longer by them. The 
commander therefore resolved to carry on both 
attempts together, moving the boats constantly, 
and taking every opportunity of getting the ships 
through. A party was sent out next day to the 
westward, to examine the state of the ice : they 
returned with tidings that it was very heavy and 
close, consisting chiefly of large fields. The ships, 
however, moved something, and the ice itself was 
drifting westward. There was a thick fog, so that 
it was impossible to ascertain what advantage had 
been gained. It continued on the 9th ; but the 
ships were moved a little through some very small 
openings : the mist cleared off in the afternoon ; and 
it was then perceived that they had driven much 
more than could have been expected to the west¬ 
ward, and that the ice itself had driven still farther. 
In the course of the day they got past the boats, 
and took them on board again. On the morrow 
the wind sprang up to the N. N. E. All sail was set, 
and the ships forced their way through a great deal 
of very heavy ice. They frequently struck, and 
with such force, that one stroke broke the shank of 
the Racehorse’s best bower-anchor : but the vessels 
made way; and by noon they had cleared the 
ice, and were out at sea. The next day they 
anchored in Smeerenberg Harbour, close to that 
island of which the westernmost point is called 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1773.'] 


15 


Hakluyt’s Headland, in honour of the great pro¬ 
moter and compiler of our English voyages oi 
discovery. 

Here they remained a few days, that the men 
might rest after their fatigue. No insect was to be 
seen in this dreary country, nor any species of rep¬ 
tile—not even the common earth-worm. Large 
bodies of ice, called ice-bergs, filled up the valleys 
between high mountains, so dark, as, when con¬ 
trasted with the snow, to appear black. The 
colour of the ice was a lively light green. Oppo¬ 
site to the place where they fixed their observatory 
was one of these ice-bergs, above three hundred 
feet high : its side towards the sea was nearly per¬ 
pendicular, and a stream of water issued from it. 
Large pieces frequently broke off', and rolled down 
into the sea. There was no thunder nor lightning 
during the whole time they were in these latitudes. 
The sky was generally loaded with hard white 
clouds, from which it was never entirely free even 
in the clearest weather. They always knew when 
they were approaching the ice, long before they 
saw T it, by a bright appearance near the horizon, 
which the Greenlandmen called the blink of the 
ice. The season was now so far advanced, that 
nothing more could have been attempted, if indeed 
anything had been left untried : but the summer 
had been unusually favourable, and they had care¬ 
fully surveyed the wall of ice, extending for more 
than twenty degrees between the latitudes of 80° and 
81°, without the smallest appearance of any opening. 

The ships were paid off* shortly after their return 
to England; and Nelson was then placed by his 
uncle with Capt. Farmer, in the Seahorse, of twenty 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


16 


[1776. 


guns, then going out to the East Indies in the 
squadron under Sir Edward Hughes. He was 
stationed in the foretop at watch and watch. His 
good conduct attracted the attention of the master 
(afterwards Capt. Surridge) in whose watch he 
was; and, upon his recommendation, the captain 
rated him as midshipman. At this time his counte¬ 
nance w r as florid, and his appearance rather stout 
and athletic; but, when he had been about eighteen 
months in India, he felt the effects of that climate, 
so perilous to European constitutions. The disease 
baffled all power of medicine; he was reduced 
almost to a skeleton; the use of his limbs was for 
some time entirely lost; and the only hope that re¬ 
mained, was from a voyage home. Accordingly he 
was brought home by Capt. Pigot, in the Dolphin : 
and had it not been for the attentive and careful 
kindness of that officer on the way. Nelson would 
never have lived to reach his native shores. He had 
formed an acquaintance with Sir Charles Pole, Sir 
Thomas Troubridge, and other distinguished officers, 
then, like himself, beginning their career: he had 
left them pursuing that career in full enjoyment of 
health and hope, and was returning from a country, 
in which all things w r ere to him new and interest¬ 
ing, with a body broken down by sickness, and 
spirits which had sunk with his strength. Long 
afterwards, when the name of Nelson was known 
as widely as that of England itself, he spoke of 
the feelings which he at this time endured. “ I 
felt impressed,” said he, “ with a feeling that I 
should never rise in my profession. My mind 
was staggered with a view of the difficulties I had 
to surmount, and the little interest I possessed. 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


* 


1776 .] 


17 


I could discover no means of reaching the object 

of my ambition. After a long and gloomy reverie, 

in which I almost wished myself overboard, a 

sudden glow of patriotism was kindled within 

me, and presented my king and country as my 

patron. Well, then,” I exclaimed, “ I will be a hero ! 

and, confiding in Providence, I will brave every 

danger ! ” 

© 


Long afterwards Nelson loved to speak of the 
feelings of that moment : and from that time, he 
often said, a radiant orb was suspended in his 
mind’s eye, which urged him onward to renown. 
The state of mind in which these feelings began, 
is what the mystics mean by their season of dark¬ 
ness and desertion. If the animal spirits fail, they 
represent it as an actual temptation. The enthu¬ 
siasm of Nelson’s nature had taken a different 
direction, but its essence was the same. He knew 
to what the previous state of dejection was to be 
attributed; that an enfeebled body, and a mind 
depressed, had cast this shade over his soul : but he 
always seemed willing to believe, that the sunshine 
which succeeded bore with it a prophetic glory, and 
that the light which led him on, was u light from 
heaven.” 

His interest, however, was far better than he 
imagined. During his absence, Capt. Suckling 
had been made comptroller of the navy; his health 
had materially improved upon the voyage; and, as 
soon as the Dolphin was paid off, he was appoint¬ 
ed acting lieutenant in the Worcester, sixty-four, 
Capt. Mark Robinson, then going out with convoy 
to Gibraltar. Soon after his return, on the 8th of 
April, 1777, he passed his examination for a lieu- 


c 


18 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


[ 1778 . 

tenancy. Capt. Suckling sat at the head of the 
board; and, when the examination had ended, in 
a manner highly honourable to Nelson, rose from 
his seat, and introduced him to the examining 
captains as his nephew. They expressed their 
wonder that he had not informed them of this re¬ 
lationship before; he replied, that he did not wish 
the younker to be favoured ; he knew his nephew 
would pass a good examination, and he had not 
been deceived. The next day Nelson received his 
commission as second lieutenant of the Lowestolfe 
frigate, Capt. William Locker, then fitting out for 
Jamaica. 

American, and French privateers under Ameri¬ 
can colours, were at that time harassing our trade 
in the West Indies: even a frigate was not suffi- 
ciently active for Nelson, and he repeatedly got 
appointed to the command of one of the Lowe- 
stoffes tenders. During one of their cruises the 
Lowestoffe captured an American letter-of-marque : 
it was blowing a gale, and a heavy sea running. 
The first lieutenant being ordered to board the 
prize, went below to put on his hanger. It hap¬ 
pened to be mislaid ; and, while he was seeking it, 
Capt. Locker came on deck. Perceiving the boat 
still alongside, and in danger every moment of 
being swamped, and being extremely anxious that 
the privateer should be instantly taken in charge, 
because he feared that it would otherwise founder, 
he exclaimed, “ Have I no officer in the ship who 
can board the prize ? ” Nelson did not offer him¬ 
self immediately, waiting, with his usual sense of 
propriety, for the first lieutenant’s return ; but, hear¬ 
ing the master volunteer, he jumped into the boat, 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1 779 .] 


29 


saying, “ It is my turn now ; and if I conic back, it 
is yours/’ The American, who had carried a heavy 
press of sail, in hope of escaping, was so completely 
water-logged that the Lowestofle’s boat went in oil 
deck, and out again with the sea. 

About this time he lost his uncle. Capt. Locker, 
however, who had perceived the excellent qualities 
of Nelson, and formed a friendship for him, which 
continued during his life, recommended him warmly 
to Sir Peter Parker, then commander-in-chief upon 
that station. In consequence of this recommen¬ 
dation he was removed into the Bristol flag-ship, 
and Lieutenant Cuthbert Collingwood, who had 
long been in habits of great friendship with him, 
succeeded him in the Lowestoffe. Sir Peter Parker 
was the friend of both, and thus it happened that 
whenever Nelson got a step in rank, Collingwood 
succeeded him. The former soon became first lieu¬ 
tenant; and, on the 8th of December, 1778, was 
appointed commander of the Badger brig ; Colling¬ 
wood taking his place in the Bristol. While the 
the Badger was lying in Montego Bay, Jamaica, 
the Glasgow of twenty guns came in and anchored 
there, and in two hours was in flames, the steward 
having set fire to her while stealing rum out of the 
after-hold. Her crew were leaping into the water, 
when Nelson came up in his boats, made them throw 
their powder overboard, and point their guns up¬ 
ward ; and, by his presence of mind and personal 
exertions, prevented the loss of life which woiud 
otherwise have ensued. On the lltli of June, 1779, 
he was made post into the Hinchinbrook, of twenty- 
eight guns, an enemy’s merchant-man, sheathed with 
wood, which had been taken into the service 

c 2 


20 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


[ 1779 . 


Oollingwood was then made commander into the 
Badger. A short time after lie left the Lowestoffe, 
that ship, with a small squadron, stormed the fort 
of St. Fernando de Omoa, on the south side of the 
Bay of Honduras, and captured some register ships 
which were lying under its guns. Two hundred 
and fifty quintals of quicksilver, and three millions 
of piastres, were the reward of this enterprise: and 
it is characteristic of Nelson, that the chance by 
which he missed a share in such a prize, is never 
mentioned in any of his letters; nor is it likely 
that it ever excited even a momentary feeling of vex¬ 
ation. 

Nelson was fortunate in possessing good interest 
at the time when it could be most serviceable to 
him: his promotion had been almost as rapid as it 
could be : and before he had attained the a^e of 
twenty-one he had gained that rank which brought 
all the honours of the service within his reach. No 
opportunity, indeed, had yet been given him of dis¬ 
tinguishing himself; but he was thoroughly master 
of his profession, and his zeal and ability were 
acknowledged wherever lie was known. Count 
d’Estaing, with a fleet of one hundred and twenty- 
five sail, men of war and transports, and a reputed 
force of five-and-twenty thousand men, threatened 
Jamaica from St. Domingo. Nelson offered his 
services to the Admiral and to Governor General 
Bailing, and was appointed to command the batte¬ 
ries of Fort Charles, at Port Royal. Not more than 
seven thousand men could be mustered for the 
defence of the island,—a number wholly inadequate 
to resist the force which threatened them. Of this 
Nelson was so w T ell aware, that when he wrote to his 





1779.] LIFE OF NELSON. 21 

friends in England, he told them they must not be 
surprised to hear of his learning to speak French. 
D’Estaing, however, was either not aware of his own 
superiority, or not equal to the command with which 
he was intrusted; he attempted nothing with his 
formidable armament; and General Dalling was thus 
left to execute a project which he had formed against 
the Spanish colonies. 

This project was, to take Fort San Juan on the 
river of that name, which flow’s from lake Nicaragua 
into the Atlantic ; make himself master of the lake 
itself, and of the cities of Granada and Leon ; and 
thus cut off the communication of the Spaniards 
betw r een their northern and southern possessions in 
America. Here it is that a canal between the two 
seas may most easily be formed;—a work more im¬ 
portant in its consequences than any which has ever 
yet been effected by human power. Lord George 
Germaine, at that time secretary of state for the 
American department, approved the plan : and as 
discontents at that time w r ere known to prevail in the 
Nuevo Peyno, in Popayan, and in Peru, the more 
sanguine part of the English began to dream of 
acquiring an empire in one part of America more 
extensive than that which they were on the point of 
losing in another. General Dailing’s plans were 
well formed; but the history and the nature of the 
country had not been studied as accurately as its 
geography : the difficulties which occurred in fitting- 
out the expedition delayed it till the season was too 
far advanced; and the men were thus sent to adven¬ 
ture themselves, not so much against an enemy, 
whom they would have beaten, as against a climate, 
which would do the enemy’s work. 


22 LIFE OF NELSON.^ £l780. 

Early in the year 1780, five hundred men destined 
for this service, were convoyed by Nelson from Port 
Royal to Cape Gracias a Dios, in Honduras. Not 
a native was to be seen when they landed : they had 
been taught that the English came with no other 
intent than that of enslaving them, and sending 
them to Jamaica. After a while, however, one of 
them ventured down, confiding in his knowledge of 
one of the party ; and by his means the neighbouring 
tribes were conciliated with presents, and brought 
in. The troops were encamped on a swampy and 
unwholesome plain, where they were joined by a 
party of the seventy-ninth regiment, from Black 
River, who were already in a deplorable state of 
sickness. Having remained here a month they pro¬ 
ceeded, anchoring frequently, along the Mosquito 
shore, to collect their Indian allies, who W'ere to 
furnish proper boats for the river, and to accompany 
them. They reached the river San Juan, March 
24 th ; and here, according to his orders, Nelson’s 
services were to terminate ; but not a man in the 
expedition had ever been up the river, or knew the 
distance of any fortification from its mouth : and 
he, not being one who would turn back when so 
much was to be done, resolved to carry the sol¬ 
diers up. About two hundred, therefore, were 
embarked in the Mosquito shore craft, and in two 
of the Hinchinbrook’s boats, and they began their 
voyage. It was the latter end of the dry season, 
the worst time for such an expedition; the river 
was consequently low : Indians were sent forward 
through narrow channels between shoals and sand 
banks, and the men were frequently obliged to 
quit the boats, and exert their utmost strength to 


LIFE OP NELSON. 


23 


1780.] 

drag or thrust them along. This labour continued 
for several days : when they came into deeper water, 
they had then currents and rapids to contend with, 
which would have been insurmountable, but for the 
skill of the Indians in such difficulties. The brunt 
of the labour w’as borne by them and by the sailors 
—men never accustomed to stand aloof when any 
exertion of strength or hardihood is required. The 
soldiers, less accustomed to rely upon themselves, 
were of little use. But all equally endured the 
violent heat of the sun, rendered more intense by 
beino- reflected from the white shoals, while the 

o ' 

high woods, on both sides of the river, were frequently 
so close, as to prevent any refreshing circulation of 
air; and during the night all were equally exposed 
to the heavy and unwholesome dews. 

On the 9th of April they reached an island in the 
river, called San Bartolomeo, which the Spaniards 
had fortified, as an out-post, with a small semicir¬ 
cular battery, mounting nine or ten swivels, and 
manned with sixteen or eighteen men. It com¬ 
manded the river in a rapid and difficult part of 
the navigation. Nelson, at the head of a few of 
his seamen, leaped upon the beach. The ground 
upon which he sprung was so muddy, that he had 
some difficulty in extricating himself, and lost his 
shoes: bare-footed, however, he advanced, and, in 
his own phrase, boarded the battery. In this re¬ 
solute attempt he was bravely supported by Des- 
pard, at that time a captain in the army, afterward 
unhappily known for his schemes of revolutionary 
treason. The castle of San Juan is situated about 
sixteen miles higher up : the stores and ammunition, 
however, were landed a few miles below the castle, 


24 


LIFE OF NELSON 



bough of a tree. He was unable to proceed from 
tbe violence of the pain : and when, after a short 
while, some of his comrades were sent hack to assist 
him, he was dead, and tbe body already putrid. 
Nelson himself narrowly escaped a similar fate. 
He had ordered his hammock to be sluno* under 
some trees, being excessively fatigued, and was 
sleeping when a monitory lizard passed across his face. 
The Indians happily observed the reptile, and know¬ 
ing what it indicated, awoke him. He started up, 
and found one of the deadliest serpents of the country 
coiled up at his feet. He suffered from poison of 
another kind; for, drinking at a spring in which 
some boughs of the manchinecl had been thrown, 
the effects were so severe, as, in the opinion of some 


[ 1780 . 

and the men had to march through woods almost 
impassable. One of the men was bitten under the 
eye by a snake, which darted upon him from the 





LIFE OF NELSON. 


1781 .] 


25 


of his friends, to inflict a lasting injury upon his 
constitution. 

The castle of San Juan is thirty-two miles below 
the point where the river issues from the Lake of 
Nicaragua, and sixty-nine from its mouth. Boats 
reach the sea from thence in a day and a half; but 
their navigation back,even when unladen, isthe labour 
of nine days. The English appeared before it on 
the 11th, two days after they had taken San Barto¬ 
lomeo. Nelson’s advice was, that it should instantly 
be carried by assault: but Nelson was not the 
commander; and it was thought proper to observe 
all the formalities of a siege. Ten days were wasted 
before this could be commenced: it was a work 
more of fatigue than of danger ; but fatigue was 
more to be dreaded than the enemy ; the rains set 
in : and, could the garrison have held out a little 
longer, diseases would have rid them of their invad¬ 
ers. Even the Indians sunk under it, the victims 
of unusual exertion, and of their own excesses. 
The place surrendered on the 24th. But victory 
procured to the conquerors none of that relief which 
had been expected ; the castle was worse than a 
prison ; and it contained nothing which could con¬ 
tribute to the recovery of the sick, or the preserva¬ 
tion of those who were yet unaffected. The huts, 
which served for hospitals, were surrounded with 
filth, and with the putrefying hides of slaughtered 
cattle—almost sufficient of themselves to have en¬ 
gendered pestilence : and when, at last, orders w-ere 
given to erect a convenient hospital, the contagion 
had become so general, that there were none who 
could work at it; for, besides the few who were 
able to perform garrison duty, there were not 


26 LIFE OF NELSON. £l78i. 

orderly men enough to assist the sick. Added to 
these evils, there was the want of all needful re¬ 
medies ; for, though the expedition had been amply 
provided with hospital stores, river craft enough 
had not been procured for transporting the requisite 
baggage; and when much was to be left behind, 
provision for sickness was that which of all things 
-men in health would be most ready to leave. Now, 
when these medicines were required, the river was 
swoln, and so turbulent that its upward navigation 
was almost impracticable. At length even the task 
of burying the dead was more than the living could 
perform, and the bodies were tossed into the stream, 
or left for beasts of prey, and for the gallinazos— 
those dreadful carrion birds, which do not always 
wait for death before they begin their work. Five 
months the English persisted in what may be called 
this war against nature ; they then left a few men, 
who seemed proof against the climate, to retain the 
castle till the Spaniards should choose to retake it, 
and make them prisoners. The rest abandoned 
their baleful conquest. Eighteen hundred men 
were sent to different posts upon this wretched ex¬ 
pedition : not more than three hundred and eighty 
ever returned. The Ilincliinbrook’s complement 
consisted of two hundred men; eighty-seven took 
to their beds in one night; and of the whole crew 
not more than ten survived. 

The transports’ men all died, and some of the 
ships, having none left to take care of them, sunk in 
the harbour : but transport ships were not wanted, 
for the troops which they had brought were no more : 
they had fallen, not by the hand of an enemy, but 
by the deadly influence of the climate. 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


1781.] LIFE OF NELSON. 27 

Nelson himself was saved by a timely removal. 
In a few days after the commencement of the siege 
he was seized with the prevailing dysentery ; mean¬ 
time Capt. Glover (son of the author of Leonidas) 
died, and Nelson was appointed to succeed him in 
the Janus, of forty-four guns ; Collingwood being 
then made post into the Hinchinbrook. He returned 
to the harbour the day before San Juan surrendered, 
and immediately sailed for Jamaica in the sloop 
which brought the news of his appointment. He 
was, however, so greatly reduced by the disorder, 
that when they reached Port Royal he was carried 
ashore in his cot; and finding himself, after a partial 
amendment, unable to retain the command of his 
new ship, he was compelled to ask leave to return 
to England, as the only means of recovery. Capt. 
(afterwards Admiral) Cornwallis took him home in 
the Lion ; and to his care and kindness Nelson 
believed himself indebted for his life. He went 
immediately to Bath, in a miserable state ; so help¬ 
less, that he was carried to and from his bed; and 
the act of moving him produced the most violent 
pain. In three months he recovered, and imme¬ 
diately hastened to London, and applied for employ¬ 
ment. After an interval of about four months he 
was appointed to the Albemarle, of twenty-eight 
guns, a French merchant-man, which had been pur¬ 
chased from the captors for the king’s service. 

His health was not yet thoroughly re-established ; 
and while he was employed in getting his ship ready, 
he again became so ill as hardly to be able to keep 
out of bed. Yet in this state, still suffering from 
the fatal effect of a West Indian climate, as if, it 
might almost he supposed, he said to try his con- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


28 



[ 1782 . 


stitution, he was sent to the North Seas, and kept 
there the whole winter. The asperity with which he 
mentioned this so many years afterwards, evinces 
how deeply he resented a mode of conduct equally 
cruel to the individual and detrimental to the service. 
It was during the armed neutrality ; and when they 
anchored off Elsineur, the Danish Admiral sent on 
board, desiring to be informed what ships had 
arrived, and to have their force written down. 
“ The Albemarle,” said Nelson to the messenger, 
“ is one of his Britannic Majesty’s ships : you are 
at liberty, sir, to count the guns as you go down the 
side: and you may assure the Danish Admiral, 
that, if necessary, they shall all be well served.” 
During this voyage he gained a considerable know¬ 
ledge of the Danish coast, and its soundings ; greatly 
to the advantage of his country in after times. 
The Albemarle was not a good ship, and was several 
times nearly overset, in consequence of the masts 
having been made much too long for her. On her 
return to England they were shortened, and some 
other improvements made at Nelson’s suggestion. 
Still he always insisted that her first owners, the 
French, had taught her to run away, as she was 
never a good sailer, except when going directly before 
the wind. 

On their return to the Downs, while he was 
ashore visiting the senior officer, there came on so 
heavy a gale, that almost all the vessels drove, and 
a store ship came athwart-hawse of the Albemarle. 
Nelson feared she would drive on the Goodwin 
Sands; he ran to the beach; but even the Deal 
boatmen thought it impossible to get on board, such 
was the violence of the storm. At length some of 


1782.] LIFE OF NELSON. 29 

the most intrepid offered to make the attempt for 
fifteen guineas; and to the astonishment and fear of 
all the beholders, he embarked during the height of 
the tempest. With great difficulty and imminent 
danger he succeeded in reaching her. She lost her 
bowsprit and foremast, but escaped further injury. 
He was now ordered to Quebec : where his surgeon 
told him, he would certainly be laid up by the 
climate. Many of his friends urged him to represent 
this to Admiral Iveppel : but haying received his 
orders from Lord Sandwich, there appeared to him 
an indelicacy in applying to his successor to have 
them altered. 

Accordingly he sailed for Canada. During her 
first cruise on that station, the Albemarle captured 
a fishing schooner, which contained, in her cargo, 
nearly all the property that her master possessed, 
and the poor fellow had a large family at home, 
anxiously expecting him. Nelson employed him 
as a pilot in Boston Bay, then restored him the 
schooner and cargo, and gave him a certificate to 
secure him against being captured by any other 
vessel. The man came off afterwards to the Albe¬ 
marle, at the hazard of his life, with a present of 
sheep, poultry, and fresh provisions. A most valu¬ 
able supply it proved ; for the scurvy was raging on 
board: this was in the middle of August, and the 
ship’s company had not had a fresh meal since the 
beginning of April. The certificate was preserved at 
Boston in memory of an act of unusual generosity ; 
and now that the fame of Nelson has given interest 
to everything connected with his name, it is regarded 
as a relic. The Albemarle had a narrow escape upon 
this cruise. Four French sail of the line and a 


30 LIFE OF NELSON. [d782< 

frigate, which had come out of Boston harbour, gave 
chase to her ; and Nelson perceiving^ that they beat 
him in sailing, boldly ran among the numerous 
shoals of St. George's Bank, confiding in his own 
skill in pilotage. Capt. Salter, in the St. Margaretta, 
had escaped the French fleet, by a similar manoeuvre, 
not long before. The frigate alone continued warily 
to pursue him; but, as soon as lie perceived that 
this enemy was unsupported, he shortened sail and 
hove to; upon which the Frenchman thought it 
advisable to give over the pursuit, and sail in quest 
of his consorts. 

At Quebec Nelson became acquainted with Alex¬ 
ander Davison ; by whose interference lie was pre¬ 
vented from making what would have been called 
an imprudent marriage. The Albemarle was about 
to leave the station, her captain had taken leave 
of his friends, and was gone down the river to the 
place of anchorage ; when the next morning, as 
Davison was walking on the beach, to his surprise 
he saw Nelson coming back in his boat. Upon 
inquiring the cause of this reappearance, Nelson 
took his arm to walk towards the town, and told 
him he found it utterly impossible to leave Quebec 
without again seeing the woman whose society had 
contributed so much to his happiness there, and 
offering her his hand.—“ If you do,” said his friend, 
“ your utter ruin must inevitably follow.”— u Then 
let it follow,” cried, Nelson, “for I am resolved to 
do it.”—“ And I,” replied Davison, “ am resolved 
you shall not.” Nelson, however, upon this occa¬ 
sion, was less resolute than his friend, and suffered 
himself to be led back to the boat. 

The Albemarle was under orders to convoy a 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1782.]] LIFE OF NELSON. 31 

fleet of transports to New York.— 414 A very pretty 
job,” said her captain, “ at this late season of the 
year” (October was far advanced), “ for our sails 
are at this moment frozen to the yards.” On his 
arrival at Sandy Ilook, he waited on the com¬ 
mander-in-chief, Admiral Digby, who told him lie 
was come on a fine station for making prize-money. 
“Yes, sir,” Nelson made answer; “but the West 
Indies is the station for honour” Lord Hood, 
with a detachment of Rodney’s victorious fleet, 
was at that time at Sandy Hook : he had been 
intimate with Capt. Suckling; and Nelson, who 
was desirous of nothing but honour, requested him 
to ask for the Albemarle, that he might go to that 
station where it was most likely to be obtained. 
Admiral Digby reluctantly parted with him. His 
professional merit was already well known: and 
Lord Hood, on introducing him to Prince William 
Henry, as the Duke of Clarence was then called, 
told the prince if he wished to ask any questions 
respecting naval tactics, Captain Nelson could give 
him as much information aS any officer in the fleet. 
The Duke, who, to his own honour, became from 
that time the firm friend of Nelson, describes him 
as appearing the meerest boy of a Captain he had 
ever seen, dressed in a full laced uniform, an old 
fashioned waistcoat with long flaps, and his lank 
unpowdered hair tied in a stiff Hessian tail of 
extraordinary length ; making, altogether, so remark¬ 
able a figure, that,” says the duke, “ I had never 
seen anything like it before, nor could I imagine 
who he was, nor what he came about. But his 
address and conversation were irresistibly pleasing; 
and when he spoke on professional subjects, it was 


32 LIFE OF NELSON. []l783. 

with an enthusiasm that showed he was no common 
being.” 

It was expected that the French would attempt 
some of the passages between the Bahamas : and 
Lord Hood, thinking of this, said to Nelson, “ I 
suppose, sir, from the length of time you were 
cruising among the Bahama Keys, you must be a 
good pilot there.” He replied, with that constant 
readiness to render justice to every man, which 
was so conspicuous in all his conduct through life, 
that he was well acquainted with them himself, 
but that in that respect his second lieutenant 
was far his superior. The French got into Puerto 
Cabello on the coast of Venezuela. Nelson was 
cruising between that port and La Guayra, under 
French colours, for the purpose of obtaining infor¬ 
mation ; when a king’s launch, belonging to the 
Spaniards, passed near, and being hailed in French, 
came alongside without suspicion, and answered 
all questions that were asked concerning the num¬ 
ber and force of the enemy’s ships. The crew 
however, were not a little surprised when they were 
taken on board, and found themselves prisoners. 
One of the party went by, the name of the Count 
de Deux Ponts. He was, however, a prince of 
the German empire, and brother to the heir of the 
Electorate of Bavaria : his companions were French 
officers of distinction, and men of science, who had 
been collecting specimens in the various branches 
of natural history. Nelson having entertained them 
with the best his table could afford, told them they 
were at liberty to depart with their boat and all that 
it contained : he only required them to promise that 
tney would consider themselves as prisoners, if the 


LIFE OF NELaOJ*. 


3i> 


1783 .] 

commander-in-chief should refuse to acquiesce, in 
their being thus liberated :—a circumstance whicii 
was not by any means likely to happen. Tidings 
soon arrived that the preliminaries of peace had been 
signed; and the Albemarle returned to England, 
and was paid off. Nelson’s first business, after he 
got to London, even before he went to see his rela¬ 
tions, was to attempt to get the wages due to his 
men for the various ships in which they had served 
during the war. “ The disgust of seamen to the v 
navy,” he said, “ was all owing to the infernal plan 
of turning them over from ship to ship ; so that men 
could not be attached to the officers, nor the officers 
care the least about the men.” Yet he himself was 
so beloved by his men, that his whole ship’s com¬ 
pany offered, if he could get a ship, to enter for her 
immediately. He was now, for the first time, pre¬ 
sented at court. After going through this ceremony, 
he dined with his friend Davison at Lincoln’s Inn. 
As soon as he entered the chambers, he threw off 
what he called his iron-bound coat; and putting 
himself at ease in a dressing-gown, passed the re¬ 
mainder of the day in talking over ail that had befallen 
them since they parted on the shore of the River St. 
Lawrence. 


r* 


34 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


[ 1783 . 


CHAPTER il. 

Nelson goes to France during the Peace — Reappointed to the 
Boreas, and stationed at the Leeward Islands—His firm Con¬ 
duct concerning the American Interlopers and the Contractors— 
Marries and returns to England—Is on the point of quitting 
the Service in disgust—Manner of life while unemployed— 
Appointed to the Agamemnon on the breaking out of the War 
of the French Revolution. 

“ I have closed the war,’' said Nelson, in one of 
his letters, “ without a fortune ; but there is not a 
speck in my character. True honour, I hope, pre¬ 
dominates in my mind far above riches.” He did 
not apply for a ship, because he was not wealthy 
enough to live on board in the manner which w*as 
then become customary. Finding it, therefore, 
prudent to economize on his half-pay during the 
peace, he went to France, in company with Capt. 
Macnamara, of the navy, and took lodgings at 
St. Omer’s. The death of his favourite sister, 
Anne, who died in consequence of going out of 
the ball-room at Bath, when heated with dancing, 
affected his father so much, that it had nearly 
occasioned him to return in a few weeks. Time, 
however, and reason, and religion, overcame this 
grief in the old man; and Nelson continued at 
St. Omer’s long enough to fall in love with the 
daughter of an English clergyman. This second 
attachment appears to have been less ardent than 
the first; for, upon weighing the evils of a strait¬ 
ened income to a married man, he thought it better 
to leave France, assigning to his friends something 


f 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1784.“] 


35 


in bis accounts as the cause. This prevented him 
from accepting an invitation from the Count of 
Deux-Ponts to visit him at Paris, couched in the 
handsomest terms of acknowledgement for the treat¬ 
ment which he had received on board the Albe¬ 
marle. 

The self-constraint which Nelson exerted in sub” 
duing this attachment made him naturally desire 
to be at sea ; and when, upon visiting Lord Howe 
at the Admiralty, he was asked if he wished to be 
employed, he made answer that he did. Accord¬ 
ingly, in March, he was appointed to the Boreas, 
twenty-eight guns, going to the Leeward Islands, 
as a cruiser, on the peace establishment. Lady 
Hughes and her family went out with him to Ad¬ 
miral Sir Richard Hughes, who commanded on 
that station. His ship was full of young midship¬ 
men, of whom there were not less than thirty on 
board: and happy were they whose lot it was to 
be placed with such a captain. If he perceived 
that a boy was afraid at first going aloft, he would 
say to him, in a friendly manner, u Well, sir, I 
am going a race to the mast-head, and beg that I 
may meet you there.” The poor little fellow in¬ 
stantly began to climb, and got up how he could, 
— Nelson never noticed in what manner; but, 
when they met in the top, spoke cheerfully to 
him, and would say, how much any person was 
to be pitied who fancied that getting up was either 
dangerous or difficult. Every day he went into 
the school-room, to see that they were pursuing 
their nautical studies ; and at noon he was always 
the first on deck with his quadrant. Whenever 
he paid a visit of ceremony, some of these youths 

d 2 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


36 


[1784. 


accompanied him : and when he went to dine with 
the governor at Barbadoes, he took one of them 
n his hand, and presented him, saying, “ Your 
Excellency must excuse me for bringing one of my 
midshipmen. I make it a rule to introduce them 
to all the good company I can, as they have few 
to look up to, besides myself, during the time they 
are at sea.” 

When Nelson arrived in the West Indies, he 
found himself senior captain, and consequently 
second in command on that station. Satisfactory 
as this was, it soon involved him in a dispute with 
the admiral, which a man less zealous for the ser¬ 
vice might have avoided. He found the Latona 
in English Harbour, Antigua, with a broad pen¬ 
dant hoisted ; and, upon inquiring the reason, was 
presented with a written order from Sir B. Hughes, 
requiring and directing him to obey the orders of 
resident commissioner Moutray, during the time he 
might have occasion to remain there; the said re¬ 
sident commissioner being, in consequence, author¬ 
ised to hoist a broad pendant on board any of his 
Majesty’s ships in that port that he might think 
proper. Nelson was never at a loss how to act in 
any emergency. “ I know of no superior officers,” 
6aid he, u besides the lords commissioners of the 
Admiralty, and my seniors on the post-list.” Con¬ 
cluding, therefore, that it was not consistent with 
the service for a resident commissioner, who held 
only a civil situation, to hoist a broad pendant, the 
moment that he had anchored, he sent an order to 
the captain of the Latona to strike it, and return it 
to the dock-yard. He went on shore the same 
day, dined with the commissioner, to show him 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1784.J LIFE OF NELSON. 3? 

thafc lie was actuated by no other motive tnan a 
sense of duty, and gave him the first intelligence 
that his pendant had been struck. Sir Richard 
sent au account of this to the Admiralty; but the 
case could admit of no doubt, and Capt. Nelson’s 
conduct was approved. 

He displayed the same promptitude on another 
occasion. While the Boreas, after the hurricane 
months were over, was riding at anchor in Nevis 
Roads, a French frigate passed to leeward, close 
along shore. Nelson had obtained information 
that this ship was sent from Martinico, with two 
general officers and some engineers on board, to 
make a survey of our sugar-islands. This purpose 
he was determined to prevent them from executing, 
and therefore he gave orders to follow them. The 
next day he came up with them at anchor in the 
roads of St. Eustatia, and anchored at about two 
cables’ length on the frigate’s quarter. Being 
afterwards invited by the Dutch governor to meet 
the French officers at dinner, he seized that occa¬ 
sion of assuring the French captain, that under¬ 
standing it was his intention to honour the British 


possessions with a visit, he had taken the earliest 
opportunity in his power to accompany him, in his 
Majesty’s ship the Boreas, in order that such atten¬ 
tion might be paid to the officers of his Most Christian 
Majesty, as every Englishman in the islands would 
be proud to show. The French, with equal cour¬ 
tesy, protested against giving him this trouble ; 
especially, they said, as they intended merely to 
cruise round the islands, without landing on any. 
But Nelson, with the utmost politeness, insisted 
upon paying them this compliment, followed them 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


38 


[ 1734 . 


close, in spite of all their attempts to elude his vigi¬ 
lance, and never lost sight of them ; till, finding it 
impossible either to deceive or escape him, they gave 
up their treacherous purpose in despair, and beat up 
for Martinico. 

A business of more serious import soon engaged 
his attention. The Americans were at this time 
trading with our islands, taking advantage of the 
register of their ships, which had been issued while 
they were British subjects. Nelson knew, that, by 
the navigation act, no foreigners, directly or indi¬ 
rectly, are permitted to carry on any trade with 
these possessions: he knew, also, that the Ameri¬ 
cans had made themselves foreigners with regard 
to England; they had disregarded the ties of blood 
and language, when they acquired the independence 
which they had been led on to claim, unhappily for 
themselves, before they were fit for it; and he was re¬ 
solved that they should derive no profit from those 
ties now. Foreigners they had made themselves, 
and as foreigners they were to be treated. “ If 
once,” said he, “ they are admitted to any kind of 
intercourse with our islands, the views of the loy¬ 
alists, in settling at Nova Scotia, are entirely done 
away ; and when we are again embroiled in a 
French war, the Americans will first become the 
carriers of these colonies, and then have possession 
of them.* Here they come, sell their cargoes for 
ready money, go to Martinico, buy molasses, and 
so round and round. The loyalist cannot do this, 
and consequently must sell a little dearer. The 
residents here are Americans by connexion and by 
interest, and are inimical to Great Britain. They 
are as great rebels as ever were in America, had 


1784.] LIFE OF NELSON. 39 

they the power to show it.” In November, when 
the squadron, having arrived at Barba does, was to 
separate, with no other orders than those for ex¬ 
amining anchorages, and the usual inquiries con¬ 
cerning wood and water, Nelson asked his friend 
Collingwood, then captain of the Mediator, whose 
opinions he knew’ upon the subject, to accompany 
him to the commander-in-chief, whom lie then 
respectfully asked, whether they were not to attend 
to the commerce of the country, and see that the 
navigation act was respected—that appearing to 
him to be the intent of keeping men-of-war upon 
this station in time of peace ? Sir Richard Hughes 
replied, he had no particular orders, neither had 
the Admiralty sent him any acts of parliament. 
But Nelson made answ 7 er, that the navigation act 
was included in the statutes of the Admiralty, with 
which every captain w T as furnished, and that act 
was directed to admirals, captains, &c. to see it 
carried into execution. Sir Richard said, lie had 
never seen the book. Upon this Nelson produced 
the statutes, read the words of the act, and appa¬ 
rently convinced the commander-in-chief, that men- 
of-war, as he said, “ were sent abroad for some 
other purpose than to be made a show of.” Accord¬ 
ingly orders were given to enforce the navigation 
act. 

Major-General Sir Thomas Shirley was at this 
time governor of the Leteward Islands ; and when 
Nelson waited on him, to inform him how he in¬ 
tended to act, and upon what grounds, he replied, 
that u old generals were not in the habit of taking 
advice from young gentlemen.”—“ Sir,” said the 
young officer, with that confidence in himself which 


40 LIFE OF NELSON. [l7S4. 

never carried him too far, and always was equal 
to the occasion, “ I am as old as the prime minister 
of England, and think myself as capable of com¬ 
manding one of his majesty’s ships as that minister 
is of governing the state/’ He was resolved to do 
his duty, whatever might be the opinion or conduct 
of others: and when he arrived upon his station 
at St. Kitt’s, he sent away all the Americans, not 
choosing to seize them before they had been well 
apprised that the act would be carried into effect, 
lest it might seem as if a trap had been laid for 
them. The Americans, though they prudently 
decamped from St. Kitt’s, were emboldened by the 
support they met with, and resolved to resist his 
orders, alleging that king’s ships had no legal 
power to seize them without having deputations 
from the customs. The planters w r ere to a man 
against him; the governors and the presidents of 
the different islands, with only a single exception, 
gave him no support: and the admiral, afraid to 
act on either side, yet wishing to oblige the plant¬ 
ers, sent him a note', advising him to be guided 
by the wishes of the president of the council. 
There was no danger in disregarding this, as it 
came unofficially, and in the form of advice. But 
scarcely a month after he had shown Sir Richard 
Hughes the law, and, as he supposed, satisfied 
him concerning it, he received an order from him, 
stating that he had now obtained good advice upon 
the point, and the Americans w 7 ere not to be hin¬ 
dered from coming, and having free egress and 
regress, if the governor chose to permit them. An 
order to the same purport had been sent round to 
the different governors and presidents ; and Gene- 


LIFE OF NELSON, 


1785.] LIFE OF NELSON. 4i 

ral Shirley and others informed him, in an authori¬ 
tative manner, that they chose to admit American 
ships, as the commander-in-chief had left the deci¬ 
sion to them. These persons, in his own words, 
lie soon “ trimmed up, and silenced; ” but it was 
a more delicate - business to deal with the admiral. 
“ I must either,” said he, “ disobey my orders, or 
disobey acts of parliament. I determined upon 
the former, trusting to the uprightness of my inten¬ 
tions, and believing that my country would not 
let me be ruined for protecting her commerce.” 
With this determination he wrote to Sir Richard; 
appealed again to the plain, literal, unequivocal 
sense of the navigation act ; and in respectful lan¬ 
guage told him, he felt it his duty to decline obeying 
these orders till he had an opportunity of seeing 
and conversing with him. Sir Richard’s first feeling 
was that of anger, and lie was about to supersede 
Nelson; but having mentioned the affair to his 
captain, that officer told him he believed all the 
squadron thought the orders illegal, and therefore 
did not know how far they were bound to obey them. 
It was impossible, therefore, to bring Nelson to a 
court martial, composed of men who agreed with him 
in opinion upon the point in dispute ; and luckily, 
though the admiral wanted vigour of mind to decide 
upon what was right, he was not obstinate in wrong, 
and had even generosity enough in his nature to 
thank Nelson afterwards for having shown him his 
error. 

Collingwood, in the Mediator, and his brother, 
Wilfred Collingwood, in the Rattler, actively co¬ 
operated with Nelson. The custom-houses were 
informed, that after a certain day all foreign vessels 


42 LIFE OF NELSON* [l785. 

found in the ports would be seized; and many 
were, in consequence, seized, and condemned in 
the admiralty court. When the Boreas arrived 
at Nevis, she found four American vessels deeply 
laden, and what are called the island colours fly¬ 
ing—white, with a red cross. They were ordered 
to hoist their proper flag, and depart within eight- 
and-forty hours; but they refused to obey, denying 
that they were Americans. Some of their crews 
were then examined in Nelson’s cabin, where the 
judge of admiralty happened to be present. The 
case was plain; they confessed that they were 
Americans, and that the ships, hull and cargo, 
were wholly American property ; upon which he 
seized them. This raised a storm : the planters, the 
custom-house, and the governor, were all against 
him. Subscriptions were opened, and presently 
filled, for the purpose of carrying on the cause in 
behalf of the American captains: and the admiral, 
whose flag was at that time in the roads, stood 
neutral. But the Americans and their abettors were 
not content with defensive law. The marines, whom 
he had sent to secure the ships, had prevented some 
of the masters from going ashore; and those per¬ 
sons, by whose depositions it appeared that the 
vessels and cargoes were American property, de¬ 
clared, that they had given their testimony under 
bodily fear, for that a man with a drawn sword in 
his hand had stood over them the whole time. A 
rascally lawyer, whom the party employed, sug¬ 
gested this story; and as the sentry at the cabin- 
door was a man witli a drawn sword, the Americans 
made no scruple of swearing to this ridiculous 
falsehood, and commencing prosecutions against 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


17S5/J 


43 


him accordingly. They laid their damages at the 
enormous amount of £40,000; and Nelson was 
obliged to keep close on board his own ship, lest 
he should be arrested for a sum for which it would 
have been impossible to find bail. The marshal 
frequently came on board to arrest him, but was 
always prevented by the address of the first lieu¬ 
tenant, Mr. Wallis. Had he been taken, such was 
the temper of the people, that it was certain he 
would have been cast for the whole sum. One of 
his officers, one day, in speaking of the restraint 
which he was thus compelled to suffer, happened 
to use the word 'pity! “ Pity !” exclaimed Nelson : 
u Pity ! did you say ? I shall live, sir, to be envied ! 
and to that point I shall always direct my course.’' 
Eight weeks he remained in this state of duresse. 
During that time the trial respecting the detained 
ships came on in the court of admiralty. He went 
on shore under a protection for the day from the 
judge: but, notwithstanding this, the marshal was 
called upon to take that opportunity of arresting 
him, and the merchants promised to indemnify him 
for so doing. The judge, however, did his duty, 
and threatened to send the marshal to prison, if 
he attempted to violate the protection of the court. 
Mr. Herbert, the president of Nevis, behaved with 
singular generosity upon this occasion. Though 
no man was a greater sufferer by the measures which 
Nelson had pursued, he offered in court to become 
his bail for £10,000, if he chose to suffer the arrest. 
The lawyer whom he had chosen proved to be an 
able as well as an honest man; and, notwithstand¬ 
ing the opinions and pleadings of most of the 
counsel of the different islands, who maintained 


44 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


[1786. 

that ships of war were not justified in seizing 
American vessels without a deputation from the 
customs, the law was so explicit, the case so clear, 
and Nelson pleaded his own cause so well, that the 
four ships were condemned. During the progress 
of this business he sent a memorial home to the 
king: in consequence of which, orders were issued 
that he should be defended at the expense of the 
crown. And upon the representations which he 
made at the same time to the secretary of state, 
and the suggestions with which he accompanied 
it, the register act was framed. The sanction of 
government, and the approbation of his conduct 
which it implied, were highly gratifying to him : 
but he was offended, and not without just cause, 
that the treasury should have transmitted thanks 
to the commander-in-chief, for his activity and 
zeal in protecting the commerce of Great Britain. 
“ Had they known all,” said he, “ I do not think 
they would have bestowed thanks in that quarter, 
and neglected me. I feel much hurt, that, after 
the loss of health and risk of fortune, another should 
be thanked for what I did against his orders. I 
either deserved to be sent out of the service, or at 
least to have had some little notice taken of what 
1 had done. They have thought it worthy of notice, 
and yet have neglected me. If this is the reward 
for a faithful discharge of my duty, I shall be care¬ 
ful, and never stand forward again. But I have 
done my duty, and have nothing to accuse myself 
of.” 

The anxiety which he had suffered from the 
harassing uncertainties of law is apparent from 
these expressions. He had, however, something 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1787.] LIFE OF NELSON. 45 

to console him, for lie was at this time wooing the 
niece of his friend the president, then in her 
eighteenth year, the widow of Dr. Nisbet, a physi¬ 
cian. She had one child, a son, by name Josiah, who 
was three years old. One day, Mr. Herbert, who 
had hastened, half-dressed, to receive Nelson, ex¬ 
claimed, on returning to his dressing-room, 44 Good 
God ! if I did not find that great little man, of 
whom everybody is so afraid, playing in the next 
room, under the dining-table, with Mrs. Nisbet’s 
child !” A few days afterwards Mrs. Nisbet herself 
was first introduced to him, and thanked him for 
the partiality which he had shown to her little 
boy. Her manners were mild and winning: and 
the captain, whose heart was easily susceptible of 
attachment, found no such imperious necessity for 
subduing his inclinations as had twice before with¬ 
held him from marrying. They were married on 
March II, 1787: Prince William Henry, who 
had come out to the West Indies the preceding 
winter, being present, by his own desire, to give 
away the bride. Mr. Herbert, her uncle, was at 
this time so much displeased with his only daugh¬ 
ter, that he had resolved to disinherit her, and 
leave his whole fortune, which was very great, to 
his niece. But Nelson, whose nature was too noble 
to let him profit by an act of injustice, interfered, 
and succeeded in reconciling the president to his 
child. 

44 Yesterday/’ said one of his naval friends, the 
day after the wedding, 44 the navy lost one of its 
greatest ornaments, by Nelson’s marriage. It is a 
national loss that such an officer should marry: 
had it not been for this, Nelson would have be- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


40 


[1787. 


come the greatest man in the service.” The man 
was rightly estimated : but he who delivered this 
opinion did not understand the effect of domestic 
love and duty upon a mind of the true heroic 
stamp. 

“ We are often separate,” said Nelson, in a 
letter to Mrs. Nisbet, a few months before their 
marriage ; “ but our affections are not by any 
means on that account diminished. Our coun¬ 
try has the first, demand for our services; and 
private convenience or happiness must ever give 
way to the public good. Duty is the great busi¬ 
ness of a sea-officer; all private considerations 
must give way to it, however painful.” “ Have 
you not often heard,” says he, in another letter, 
“ that salt water and absence always wash away 
love ? Now I am such a heretic as not to believe 
that article : for behold, every morning I have had 
six pails of salt water poured upon my head, and 
instead of finding what seamen say to be true, it 
goes on so contrary to the prescription, that you 
must, perhaps, see me before the fixed time.” 
More frequently his correspondence breathed a 
deeper strain. “ To write letters to you,” says he, 
“ is the next greatest pleasure I feel to receiving 
them from you. What*I experience when I read 
such as I am sure are the pure sentiments of your 
heart, my poor pen cannot express :—nor, indeed, 
would I give much for any pen or head which 
could express feelings of that kind. Absent from 
you, I feel no pleasure: it is you who are every¬ 
thing to me. Without you, I care not for this 
world; for I have found, lately, nothing in it but 
vexation and trouble. These are my present sen- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1787.] 


47 


timents. God Almighty grant they may never 
change ! Nor do I think they will. Indeed there 
is, as far as human knowledge can judge, a moral 
certainty that they cannot: for it must be real 
affection that brings us together; not interest or 
compulsion.” Such were the feelings, and such 
the sense of duty, with which Nelson became a 
husband. 

During his stay upon this station, he had ample 
opportunity of observing the scandalous practices 
of the contractors, prize-agents, and other persons 
in the West Indies connected with the naval ser¬ 
vice. When he was first left with the command, 
and bills were brought him to sign for money 
which was owing for goods purchased for, the 
navy, he required the original voucher, that he 
might examine whether those goods had been 
really purchased at the market price : but to pro¬ 
duce vouchers would not have been convenient, 
and therefore was not the custom. Upon this 
Nelson wrote to Sir Charles Middleton, then comp¬ 
troller of the navy, representing the abuses which 
were likely to be practised in this manner. The 
answer which he received seemed to imply that 
the old forms were thought sufficient: and thus, 
having no alternative, he was compelled, with his 
eyes open, to submit to a practice originating in 
fraudulent intentions. Soon afterwards two An¬ 
tigua merchants informed him, that they were 
privy to great frauds, which had been committed 
upon government in various departments; at An¬ 
tigua, to the amount of nearly <£500,000; at 
Lucie, £300,000; at Barbadoes, £250,000; at 
Jamaica, upwards of a million. The informers 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


48 LIFE OF NELSON. £l7S7. 

were both shrewd, sensible men of business ; they 
did not affect to be actuated by a sense of justice, 
but required a per-centage upon so much as go¬ 
vernment should actually recover through their 
means. Nelson examined the books and papers 
which they produced, and was convinced that 
government had been most infamously plundered. 
Vouchers, he found, in that country, were no 
check whatever: the principle was, that “ a thing 
was always worth what it would bring:” and the 
merchants were in the habit of signing vouchers 
for each other, without even the appearance of 
looking at the articles. These accounts he sent 
home to the different departments which had been 
defrauded : but the peculators were too powerful; 
and they succeeded not merely in impeding inquiry, 
but even in raising prejudices against Nelson at the 
board of admiralty, which it was many years before 
he could subdue. 

Owing, probably, to these prejudices, and the 
influence of the peculators, he was treated, on his 
return to England, in a manner which had nearly 
driven him from the service. During the three 
years that the Boreas had remained upon a station 
which is usually so fatal, not a single officer or 
man of her whole complement had died. This 
almost unexampled instance of good health, though 
mostly, no doubt, imputable to a healthy season, 
must, in* some measure, also, be ascribed to the 
wise conduct of the captain. lie never suffered the 
ships to remain more than three or four weeks at a 
time at any of the islands ; and when the hurri¬ 
cane months confined him to English Harbour, he 
encouraged all kinds of useful amusements; music, 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


J787.] 


49 


dancing, and cudgelling among the men; theatri¬ 
cals among the officers; anything which could 
employ their attention, and keep their spirits cheer¬ 
ful. The Boreas arrived in England in June. Nel¬ 
son, who had many times been supposed to be con¬ 
sumptive when in the West Indies, and perhaps 
was saved from consumption by that climate, w'as 
still in a precarious state of health; and the raw 
wet weather of one of our ungenial summers 
brought on cold, and sore throat, and fever: yet 
Ins vessel was kept at the Nore from the end of 
June till the end of November, serving as a slop 
and receiving ship. This unworthy treatment, 
which more probably proceeded from intention 
than from neglect, excited in Nelson the strongest 
indignation. During the whole five months he 
seldom or never quitted the ship, but carried on the 
duty with strict and sullen attention. On the 
morning wdien orders were received to prepare the 
Boreas for being paid off, he expressed his joy to 
the senior officer in the Medway, saying, “ It will 
release me for ever from an ungrateful service, for 
it is my firm and unalterable determination never 
again to set my foot on board a king’s ship. Im¬ 
mediately after my arrival in town I shall wait on 
the first lord of the admiralty, and resign my 
commission.” The officer to whom he thus com¬ 
municated his intentions behaved in the wisest and 
most friendly manner: for finding it in vain to dis¬ 
suade him in his present state of feeling, he 
secretly interfered with the first lord to save him 
from a step so injurious to himself, little foreseeing 
how deeply the welfare and honour of England 
were at that moment at stake. This interference 


E 


50 LIFE OF NELSON. []l787- 

produced a letter from Lord Howe, the day before * 
the ship was paid off, intimating a wish to see 
Captain Nelson as soon as he arrived in town : when, 
being pleased with his conversation, and perfectly 
convinced, by what was then explained to him, of 
the propriety of his conduct, he desired that he 
might present him to the king on the first levee- 
day; and the gracious manner in which Nelson 
was then received, effectually removed his resent¬ 
ment. 

Prejudices had been, in like manner, excited 
against his friend, Prince William Henry. 44 No¬ 
thing is wanting, sir,” said Nelson, in one of his 
letters, 44 to make you the darling of the English 
nation, but truth. Sorry 1 am to say, much to the . 
contrary has been dispersed.” This was not flat¬ 
tery ; for Nelson was no flatterer. The letter in 
which this passage occurs shows in how wise and 
noble a manner he dealt with the prince. One of 
his royal highness’s officers had applied for a court- 
martial upon a point in which he was unquestion¬ 
ably wrong. His royal highness, however, while 
he supported his own character and authority, pre¬ 
vented the trial, which must have been injurious to 
a brave and deserving man. 44 Now that you are 
parted,” said Nelson, 44 pardon me, my prince, 
when I presume to recommend that he may stand 
in your royal favour as if he had never sailed with 
you, and that at some future day you will serve 
him. There only wants this to place your conduct 
in the highest point of view. None of us are with¬ 
out failings; his, was being rather too hasty : but 
that, put in competition with his being a good 
officer, will not, I am bold to say, be taken in the 









1788.] LIFE OF NELSON. 51 

scale against him. More able friends than myself 
vour royal highness may easily find, and of more 
consequence in the state; but one more attached 
and affectionate is not so easily met with. Princes 
seldom, very seldom, find a disinterested person to 
communicate their thoughts to: I do not pretend 
to be that person : but of this be assured, by a 
man who, I trust, never did a dishonourable act, 
that I am interested only that your royal highness 
should be the greatest and best man tltts country 
ever produced.” 

Encouraged by the conduct of Lord Howe, and 
by his reception at court, Nelson renewed his at¬ 
tack upon the peculators with fresh spirit. He 
had interviews with Mr. Pose, Mr. Pitt, and Sir 
Charles Middleton, to all of whom he satisfac¬ 
torily proved his charges. In consequence, it is 
said, these very extensive public frauds were at 
length put in a proper train to be provided against 
in future: his representations were attended to; 
and every step which he recommended was adopted : 
the investigation was put into a proper course, 
which ended in the detection and punishment of 
some of the culprits: an immense saving was made 
to government, and thus its attention was directed 
to similar peculations in other parts of the colonies. 
But it is said also, that no mark of commendation 
seems to have been bestowed upon Nelson for his 
exertion. And it is justly remarked,* that the 
spirit of the navy cannot be preserved so effectu¬ 
ally by the liberal honours bestowed on officers, 
when they arc worn out in the service, as by an 


* Clarke and M‘Arthur, vol. i. p. 107. 
E 2 



52 LIFE OF NELSON. £l78S. 

» 

ittention to those who, like Nelson at this part of 
his life, have only their integrity and zeal to bring 
them into notice. A junior officer, who had been 
left with the command at Jamaica, received an 
additional allowance, for which Nelson had ap¬ 
plied in vain. Double pay was allowed to every 
artificer and seaman employed in the naval yard : 
Nelson had superintended the whole business of 
that yard with the most rigid exactness, and he 
complained that he was neglected. “ It was most 
true,” he said, “ that the trouble which he took 
to detect the fraudulent practices then carried 
on, was no more than his duty; but he little 
thought that the expenses attending his frequent 
journeys to St. John’s upon that duty (a distance 
of twelve miles), would have fallen upon his pay 
as captain of the Boreas.” Nevertheless, the sense 
of what he thought unworthy usage did not dimi¬ 
nish his zeal. “ I,” said he, u must still buffet 
the waves in search of—What ? Alas ! that they 
called honour is now thought of no more. My 
fortune, God knows, has grown worse for the 
service : so much for serving my country ! But 
the devil, ever willing to tempt the virtuous, has 
made me offer, if any ships should be sent to de¬ 
stroy his majesty of Morocco’s ports, to be there ; 
and I have some reason to think, that, should any 
more come of it, my humble services will be ac¬ 
cepted. I have invariably laid down, and followed 
close, a plan of what ought to be uppermost in 
the breast of an officer,—that it is much better 
to serve an ungrateful country, than to give up 
his own fame. Posterity will do him justice. A 
uniform course of honour and integrity seldom 










LIFE OF NELSON. 


1788.] LIFE OF NELSON. 53 

fails of bringing a man to the goal of fame at 
last.” 

The design against the Barbary pirates, like all 
other designs against them, was laid aside; and 
Nelson took his wife to his father’s parsonage, 
meaning only to pay him a visit before they went 
to France; a project which he had formed for the 
sake of acquiring a competent knowledge of the 
French language. But his father could not bear 
to lose him thus unnecessarily. Mr. Nelson had 
long been an invalid, suffering under paralytic 
and asthmatic affections, which, for several hours 
after he rose in the morning, scarcely permitted 
him to speak. He had been given over by his 
physicians, for this complaint, nearly forty years 
before his death; and was, for many of his latter 
years, obliged to spend all his winters at Bath. 
The sight of his son, he declared, had given him 
new life. u But, Horatio,” said he, u it would 
have been better that I had not been thus cheered, 
if I am so soon to be bereaved of you again. Let 
me, my good son, see you whilst I can. My age 
and infirmities increase, and I shall not last long.” 
To such an appeal there could be no reply. Nel¬ 
son took up his abode at the parsonage, and 
amused himself with the sports and occupations 
of the country. Sometimes he busied himself with 
farming the glebe; sometimes spent the greater 
part of the day in the garden, where he would dig 
as if for the mere pleasure of wearying himself. 
Sometimes he went a birds’-nesting, like a boy : 
and in these expeditions Mrs. Nelson always, by 
his express desire, accompanied him. Coursing 
was his favourite amusement. Shooting, as he 


54 LIFE OF NELSON. £l78S. 

practised it, was far too dangerous for his compa¬ 
nions : for he carried his gun upon the full cock, as 
if he were going to board an enemy ; and the moment 
a bird rose, he let fly, without ever putting the 
fowling-piece to his shoulder. It is not, therefore, 
extraordinary, that his having once shot a partridge 
should be remembered by his family among the 
remarkable events of his life. 

But his time did not pass away thus, without 
some vexatious cares to ruffle it. The affair of the 
American ships was not yet over, and he was 
again pestered with threats of prosecution. “ I 
have written them word,” said he, “ that I will 
have nothing to do with them, and they must act 
as they think proper. Government, I suppose, 
will do what is right, and not leave me in the 
lurch. We have heard enough lately of the con¬ 
sequences of the navigation act to this country. 
They may take my person; but if sixpence would 
save me from a prosecution, I would not give it.” 
It was his great ambition at this time to possess a 
pony; and having resolved to purchase one, he 
went to a fair for that purpose. During his ab¬ 
sence two men abruptly entered the parsonage, 
and inquired for him : they then asked for Mrs. 
Nelson; and after they had made her repeatedly 
declare that she was really and truly the captain’s 
wife, presented her with a writ, or notification, on 
the part of the American captains, who now laid 
their damages at £20,000, and they charged her 
to give it t > her husband on his return. Nelson 
having bought his pony, came home with it in 
high spirits. He called out his wife to admire the, 
purchase, and listen to all its excellences: nor 



1788.] LIFE OF NELSON. 55 

was it till his glee had in some measure subsided 
that the paper could be presented to him. His 
indignation was excessive: and, in the apprehen¬ 
sion that he should be exposed to the anxieties of 
the suit, and the ruinous consequences which might 
ensue, he exclaimed, “ This affront I did not de¬ 
serve ! But I’ll be trifled with no longer. 1 will 
write immediately to the treasury ; and, if govern¬ 
ment will not support me, I am resolved to leave the 
country.” Accordingly, he informed the treasury, 
that if a satisfactory answer were not sent him 
by return of post, he should take refuge in France. 
To this he expected he should be driven, and for 
this he arranged every thing with his characteristic 
rapidity of decision. It was settled that he should 
depart immediately, and Mrs. Nelson follow under 
the care of his elder brother, Maurice, ten days after 
him. But the answer which he received from go¬ 
vernment quieted his fears ; it stated, that Captain 
Nelson was a very good officer, and needed to be 
under no apprehension, for he would assuredly be 
supported. 

Here his disquietude upon this subject seems to 
have ended. Still he was not at ease ; he wanted 
employment, and was mortified that his applica¬ 
tions for it produced no effect. “ Not being a 
man of fortune,” he said, “ was a crime which he 
was unable to get over, and therefore none of the 
great cared about him.” Repeatedly he requested 
the admiralty that they would not leave him to 
rust in indolence. During the armament which was 
made upon occasion of the dispute concerning 
Nootka Sound, he renewed his application : and his 
steady friend, Prince William, who had then been 


56 LIFE OF NELSON. £l7S8. 

created Duke of Clarence, recommended him to Lord 
Chatham. The failure of this recommendation 
wounded him so keenly, that he again thought of 
retiring from the service in disgust: a resolution from 
which nothing but the urgent remonstrances of 
Lord Hood induced him to desist. Hearing that the 
Raisonnable, in which he had commenced his career, 
was to be commissioned, he asked for her. This 
also was in vain : and a coolness ensued, on his part, 
toward Lord Hood, because that excellent officer did 
not use his influence with Lord Chatham upon 
this occasion. Lord Hood, however, had certainly 
sufficient reasons for not interfering ; for he ever 
continued his steady friend. In the winter of 
1792, when we were on the eve of the revolutionary 
war, Nelson once more offered his services, earnestly 
requested a ship, and added, that if their lordships 
should be pleased to appoint him to a cockle-boat, 
he should feel satisfied. He was answered in the 
usual official form : u Sir, I have received your 
letter of the 5th instant, expressing your readiness 
to serve, and have read the same to my lords com¬ 
missioners of the admiralty.” On the 12th of De¬ 
cember he received this dry acknowledgment. The 
fresh mortification did not, however, affect him long ; 
for, by the joint interest of the Duke and Lord 
Hood, he was appointed, on the 30th of January 
following, to the Agamemnon, of sixty-four guns. 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


57 


1793. j 


CHAPTER III. 

The Agamemnon sent to the Mediterranean—Commencement oi 
Nelson’s acquaintance with Sir W. Hamilton—He is sent to 
Corsica, to co-operate with Paoli —State of affairs in that 
island—Nelson undertakes the siege of Bastia, and reduces it— 
Takes a distinguished part in the siege of Calvi, where he loses 
an Eye—Admiral Hotham’s action—The Agamemnon ordered 
to Genoa, to co-operate with the Austrian and Sardinian forces 
—Gross misconduct of the Austrian General. 

“ Tiiere are three things, young gentleman,” said 
Nelson to one of his midshipmen, “ which you are 
constantly to bear in mind. First, you must al¬ 
ways implicitly obey orders, without attempting to 
form any opinion of your own respecting their 
propriety. Secondly, you must consider every 
man your enemy who speaks ill of your king : and, 
thirdly, you must hate a Frenchman as you do the 
devil.” With these feelings he engaged in the 
war. Josiah, his son-in-law, went with him as a 
midshipman. 

The Agamemnon was ordered to the Mediter¬ 
ranean, under Lord Hood. The fleet arrived in 
those seas at a time when the south of France 
would willingly have formed itself into a separate 
republic, under the protection of England. But 
good principles had been at that time perilously 
abused by ignorant and profligate men ; and, in 
its fear and hatred of democracy, the English go¬ 
vernment abhorred whatever was republican. Lord 
Hood could not take advantage of the fair occa¬ 
sion which presented itself; and which, if it had 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


5S 


[1793. 


been seized with vigour, might have ended in divid¬ 
ing France :—but lie negotiated witli the people 
of Toulon, to take possession provisionally of their 
port and city ; which, fatally for themselves, was 
done. Before the British fleet entered, Nelson 
w’as sent with despatches to Sir William Hamilton, 
our envoy at the court of Naples. Sir William, 
after his first interview with him, told Lady Ha¬ 
milton he was about to introduce a little man to 
her, who could not boast of being very handsome ; 
but such a man, as, he believed, would one day 
astonish the world. “ I have never before,” lie 
continued, “ entertained an officer at my house ; 
but I am determined to bring him here. Let him 
be put in the room prepared for Prince Augustus.” 
Thus that acquaintance began which ended in the 
destruction of Nelson’s domestic happiness. It 
seemed to threaten no such consequences at its 
commencement. He spoke of Lady Hamilton, in 
a letter to his wife, as a young woman of amiable 
manners, who did honour to the station to which 
she had been raised : and he remarked, that she 
had been exceedingly kind to Josiah. The activity 
with which the envoy exerted himself in procuring 
troops from Naples, to assist in garrisoning Toulon, 
so delighted him, that lie is said to have exclaimed: 
“ Sir William, you are a man after my own heart! 
—you do business in my own way : ” and then to 
have added, “ I am now only a captain ; but I 
will, if I live, be at the top of the tree.” Here, 
also, that acquaintance with the Neapolitan court 
commenced, which led to the only blot upon Nel¬ 
son’s public character. The king, who was sincere 
at that time in his enmitv to the French, called 

V 7 


4 







1793.] LIFE OF NELSON. 59 

the English the saviours of Italy, and of his domi¬ 
nions in particular. He paid the most flattering 
attentions to Nelson, made him dine with him, and 
seated him at his right hand. 

Having accomplished this mission, Nelson re¬ 
ceived orders to join Commodore Linzee, at Tunis. 
On the way, five sail of the enemy were discovered 
off the coast of Sardinia, and he chased them. 
They proved to be three forty-four gun frigates 
with a corvette of twenty-four, and a brig of twelve. 
The Agamemnon had only three hundred and forty- 
five men at quarters, having landed part of her 
crew at Toulon, and others being absent in prizes. 
He came near enough one of the frigates to engage 
her, but at great disadvantage, the Frenchman 
manoeuvring well, and sailing greatly better. A 
running fight of three hours ensued; during which 
the other ships, which were at some distance, made 
all speed to come up. By this time the enemy 
was almost silenced, when a favourable change of 
wind enabled her to get out of reach of the Aga¬ 
memnon’s guns; and that ship had received so 
much damage in the rigging, that she could not 
follow her. Nelson conceiving that this was but 
the forerunner of a far more serious engagement, 
called his officers together, and asked them if the 
ship was fit to go into action against such a 
superior force, without some small refit and re¬ 
freshment for the men. Their answer was, that 
she certainly was not. He then gave these or¬ 
ders :—“ Veer the ship, and lay her head to the 
westward : let some of the best men be employed 
in refitting the rigging, and the carpenter in getting 
crows and capstan-bars to prevent our wounded 


60 LIFE OF NELSON. % Q794. 

spars from coming down : and get the wine up for 
the people, with some bread, for it may be half an 
hour good before we are again in action.’ But 
when the French came up, their comrade made 
signals of distress, and they all hoisted out their 
boats to go to her assistance, leaving the Agamem¬ 
non unmolested. 

Nelson found Commodore Linzee at Tunis, 
where he had been sent to expostulate with the 
dey upon the impolicy of his supporting the revo¬ 
lutionary government of France. Nelson repre¬ 
sented to him the atrocity of that government. 
Such arguments were of little avail in Barbary: 
and when the dey was told that the French had 
put their sovereign to death, he drily replied, that 
“ Nothing could be more heinous ; and yet, if his¬ 
torians told the truth, the English had once done 
the same.” This answer had doubtless been sug¬ 
gested by the French about him: they had com- 
pletely gained the ascendancy, and all negotiation 
on our part proved fruitless. Shortly afterward 
Nelson was detached with a small squadron, to co¬ 
operate with General Paoli and the Anti-Gallican 
party in Corsica. 

Some thirty years before this time, the heroic 
patriotism of the Corsicans, and of their leader, 
Paoli, had been the admiration of England. The 
history of these brave people is but a melancholy 
tale. The island which they inhabit has been 
abundantly blessed by nature: it has many excel¬ 
lent harbours ; and though the mcd-aria , or pesti¬ 
lential atmosphere, which is so deadly in many 
parts of Italy, and of the Italian islands, prevails 
on the eastern coast, the greater part of the conn- 






LIFE OF NELSON. 


1794.] LIFE OF NELSON. 61 

try is mountainous and healthy. It is about one 
hundred and fifty miles long, and from forty to 
fifty broad; in circumference, some three hundred 
and twenty :—a country large enough, and suffi¬ 
ciently distant from the nearest shores, to have 
subsisted as an independent state, if the welfare 
and happiness of the human race had ever been 
considered as the end and aim of policy. The 
Moors, the Pisans, the kings of Arragon, and the 
Genoese, successively attempted, and each for a 
time effected, its conquest. The yoke of the Ge¬ 
noese continued longest, and was the heaviest. 
These petty tyrants ruled with an iron rod : and 
when at any time a patriot rose to resist their op¬ 
pressions, if they failed to subdue him by force, 
they resorted to assassination. At the commence¬ 
ment of the last century they quelled, one revolt by 
the aid of German auxiliaries, whom the Emperor 
Charles YI. sent against a people who had never 
offended him, and who were fighting for whatever 
is most dear to man. In 1734 the war w T as re¬ 
newed; and Theodore, a Westphalian baron, then 
appeared upon the stage. In that age men were 
not accustomed to see adventurers play for king¬ 
doms, and Theodore became the common talk of 
Europe. He had served in the French armies: 
and having afterwards been noticed both by Rip- 
perda and Alberoni, their example, perhaps, in¬ 
flamed a spirit as ambitious and as unprincipled as 
their own. He employed the whole of his means 
in raising money and procuring arms: then wrote 
to the leaders of the Corsican patriots, to offer 
them considerable assistance, if they would erect 
Corsica into an independent kingdom, ami elect 


62 LIFE OF NELSON. Q794. 

him king. When he landed among them, they 
were struck with his stately person, his dignified 
manners, and imposing talents: they believed the 
magnificent promises of foreign assistance which he 
held out, and elected him king accordingly. Had 
his means been as he represented them, they could 
not have acted more wisely than in thus at once 
fixing the government of their country, and put¬ 
ting an end to those rivalries among the leading 
families, which had so often proved pernicious to 
the public weal. He struck money, conferred 
titles, blocked up the fortified towns which were 
held by the Genoese, and amused the people with 
promises of assistance for about eight months: 
then, perceiving that they cooled in their affec¬ 
tions towards him, in proportion as their expecta¬ 
tions were disappointed, he left the island, under 
the plea of expediting himself the succours which 
he had so* long awaited. Such was his address, 
that he prevailed upon several rich merchants in 
Holland, particularly the Jews, to trust him with 
cannon and warlike stores to a great amount. 
They shipped these under the charge of a super¬ 
cargo. Theodore returned with this supercargo to 
Corsica, and put him to death on his arrival, as 
the shortest way of settling the account. The 
remainder of his life was a series of deserved afflic¬ 
tions. He threw in the stores which he had thus 
fraudulently obtained: but he did not dare to land ; 
lor Genoa had now called in the French to their 
assistance, and a price had been set upon his head. 
His dreams of royalty were now at an end : he took 
refuge in London, contracted debts, and was thrown 
into the King’s Bench. After lingering there many 












LIFE OF NELSON. 


1794.] LIFE OF NELSON. 63 

years, lie was released under an act of insolvency : 
in consequence of which, he made over the kingdom 
of Corsica for the use of his creditors, and died 
shortly after his deliverance. 

The French, who have never acted a generous 
part in the history of the world, readily entered 
into the views of the Genoese, which accorded 
with their own policy: for such was their ascend¬ 
ancy at Genoa, that in subduing Corsica for these 
allies, they were in fact subduing it for themselves. 
They entered into the contest, therefore, with their 
usual vigour, and their usual cruelty. It was in 
vain that the Corsicans addressed a most affecting 


memorial to the court of Versailles ; that remorse¬ 
less government persisted in its flagitious project. 
They poured in troops ; dressed a part of them 
like the people of the country, by which means 
they deceived and destroyed many of the patriots; 
cut down the standing corn, the vines, and the 
olives; set fire to the villages, and hung all the 
most able and active men who fell into their hands. 
A war of this kind may be carried on with success 
against a country so small and so thinly peopled 
as Corsica. Having reduced the island to perfect 
servitude, which they called peace, the French 
withdrew their forces. As soon as they were gone, 
men, women, and boys, rose at once against their 
oppressors. The circumstances of the times were 
now favourable to them; and some British ships, 
acting as allies of Sardinia, bombarded Bastia and 

o ' 

San Fiorenzo, and delivered them into the hands 
of the patriots. This- service was long remembered 
with gratitude: the impression made upon our 
own countrymen was less favourable. They had 


LIFE OF KELSON. 


C4 LIFE OF KELSON. Ql794- 

witnessed the heart-burnings of rival chiefs, and the 
dissensions among the patriots; and perceiving 
the state of barbarism to which continual oppres¬ 
sion, and habits of lawless turbulence, had reduced 
the nation, did not recollect that the vices of the 
people were owing to their unhappy circumstances ; 
but that the virtues which they displayed arose 
from their own nature. This feeling, perhaps, in¬ 
fluenced the British court, when, in 1746, Corsica 
offered to put herself under the protection of Great 
Britain : an answer was returned, expressing satis¬ 
faction at such a communication, hoping that the 
Corsicans would preserve the same sentiments, but 
signifying also that the present was not the time 
for such a measure. 

These brave islanders then formed a government 
for themselves, under two leaders, Gaftori and 
Matra, who had the title of protectors. The latter 
is represented as a partisan of Genoa, favouring 
the views of the oppressors of his country by the 
most treasonable means. Gaffori wnis a hero wor¬ 
thy of old times. His eloquence was long remem¬ 
bered with admiration. A band of assassins was 
once advancing against him ; he heard of their 
approach, went out to meet them; and, with a 
serene dignity, which overawed them, requested 
them to hear him : he then spake to them so for¬ 
cibly of the distresses of their country, her in¬ 
tolerable wrongs, and the hopes and views of their 
brethren in arms, that the very men who had been 
hired to murder him, fell at his feet, implored his 
forgiveness, and joined his banner. While he was 
besieging the Genoese in Corte, a part of the gar¬ 
rison perceiving the nurse with his eldest son, then 







LIFE OF NELSON. 


1794.] 


65 


an infant in arms, straying at a little distance from 
the camp, suddenly sallied out and seized them. 
The use they made of their persons was in conform¬ 
ity to their usual execrable conduct. When Gaf- 
fori advanced to batter the walls, they held up the 
child directly over that part of the wall at which 
the guns were pointed. The Corsicans stopt: but 
Gaffori stood at their head, and ordered them to 
continue the fire. Providentially the child escaped, 
and lived to relate, with becoming feeling, a fact so 
honourable to his father. That father conducted 
the affairs of the island till 1753, when he was as¬ 
sassinated by some wretches, set on, it is believed, 
by Genoa: but certainly pensioned by that abomi¬ 
nable government after the deed. He left the 
country in such a state, that it was enabled to con¬ 
tinue the war two years after his death without 
a leader : the Corsicans then found one worthy of 
their cause in Pasquale de Paoli. 

Paoli’s father was one of the patriots who 
effected their escape from Corsica when the French 
reduced it to obedience. He retired to Naples, 
and brought up this his youngest son in the Nea¬ 
politan service. The Corsicans heard of young 
Paoli's abilities, and solicited him to come over to 
his native country, and take the command. He 
did not hesitate long: his father, who was too far 
advanced in years to take an active part himself, 
encouraged him to go ; and when they separated, 
the old man fell on his neck, and kissed him, and 
gave him his blessing. “ My son,” said he, “ per¬ 
haps I may never see you more; but in my mind 
I shall ever be present with you. Your design is 
o-reat and noble: and I doubt not but God will 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


66 LIFE OF NELSON. []l794. 

bless you in it. I shall devote to your cause the 
little remainder of my life in offering up my 
prayers for your success.” When Paoli assumed 
the command, he found all things in confusion : 
he formed a democratical government, of which he 
was chosen chief; restored the authority of the 
laws; established a university: and took such 
measures, both for repressing abuses and moulding 
the rising generation, that, if France had not in¬ 
terfered, upon its wicked and detestable principle 
of usurpation, Corsica might, at this day, have been 
as free, and flourishing, and happy a commonwealth 
as any of the Grecian states in the days of their 
prosperity. The Genoese were at this time driven 
out of their fortified towns, and must in a short 
time have been expelled. France was indebted some 
millions of livres to Genoa : it was not convenient 
to pay this money ; so the French minister pro¬ 
posed to the Genoese, that she should discharge the 
debt by sending six battalions to serve in Corsica 
for four years. The indignation which this conduct 
excited in all generous hearts was forcibly expressed 
by Rousseau, who, with all his errors, was seldom 
deficient in feeling for the wrongs of humanity. 
“ You Frenchmen,” said he, -writing to one of that 
people, “ are a thoroughly servile nation, thoroughly 
sold to tyranny, thoroughly cruel and relentless in 
persecuting the unhappy. If you knew of a free¬ 
man at the other end of the world, I believe you 
would go thither for the mere pleasure of extirpating 
him.” 

The immediate object of the French happened 
to be purely mercenary : they wanted to clear off 
their debt to Genoa ; and as the presence of their 









LIFE OF NELSON. 


1704.H LIFE OF NELSON. 67 

troops in the island effected this, they aimed at 
doing the people no farther mischief. Would that 

the conduct of England had been at this time free 

© 


from reproach ! but a proclamation was issued by 
the English government, after the peace of Paris, 
prohibiting any intercourse with the rebels of Cor¬ 
sica. Paoli said, he did not expect this from Great 
Britain. This great man was deservedly proud of 
his country: — “ I defy Pome, Sparta, or Thebes,” 
he would say, “ to show me thirty years of such 
patriotism as Corsica can boast ! ” Availing him¬ 
self of the respite which the inactivity of the 
French and the weakness of the Genoese allowed, 
he prosecuted his plans of civilising the people. 
He used to say, that though he had an unspeak¬ 
able pride in the prospect of the fame to which he 
aspired; yet, if he could but render his country¬ 
men happy, he could be content to be forgotten. 
His own importance he never affected to under¬ 
value. “ We are now to our country,” said he, 
“ like the prophet Elisha, stretched over the dead 
child of the Sliunamite,—eye to eye, nose to nose, 
mouth to mouth. It begins to recover warmth, 
and to revive : I hope it will yet regain full health 
and vigour.” 

But when the four years were expired, France 
purchased the sovereignty of Corsica from the 
Genoese for forty millions of livres ; as if the Ge¬ 
noese had been entitled to sell it; as if any bar¬ 
gain and sale could justify one country in taking 
possession of another against the will of the inha¬ 
bitants, and butchering all who oppose the usurpa¬ 
tion ! Among the enormities which France has 
committed, this action seems but as a speck ; yet 


F 2 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


63 LIFE OF NELSON. Ql794. 

the foulest murderer that ever suffered by the hand 
of the executioner, has infinitely less guilt upon 
his 3oul than the statesman who concluded this 
treaty, and the monarch who sanctioned and con¬ 
firmed it. A desperate and glorious resistance was 
made ; but it was in vain ; no power interposed in 
behalf of these injured islanders, and the French 
poured in as many troops as were required. They 
offered to confirm Paoli in the supreme authority, 
only on condition that he would hold it under their 
government. Ills answer was, that “ the rocks 
which surrounded him should melt away before 
he would betray a cause which he held in common 
with the poorest Corsican.” This people then set 
a price upon his head. During two campaigns 
he kept them at bay: they overpowered him at 
length : he was driven to the shore, and, having 
escaped on ship-board, took refuge in England. It 
is said that Lord Shelburne resigned his seat in the 
cabinet, because the ministry looked on, without 
attempting to prevent France from succeeding in this 
abominable and important act of aggrandizement. 
In one respect, however, our country acted as be¬ 
came her. Paoli was welcomed with the honours 
which he deserved, a pension of £1200 was immedi¬ 
ately granted him ; and provision was liberally made 
for his elder brother and his nephew. 

About twenty years Paoli remained in England, 
enjoying the friendship of the wise, and the admi¬ 
ration of the good. But when the French Revo¬ 
lution began, it seemed as if the restoration of 
Corsica was at hand. The whole country, as if 
animated by one spirit, rose and demanded liberty; 
and the national assembly passed a decree, recog- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1794.] LIFE OF NELSON. 69 

iiising the island as a department of France, and 
therefore entitled to all the privileges of the new 
French constitution. This satisfied the Corsicans, 
which it ought not to have done; and Paoli, in 
whom the ardour of youth was passed, seeing that 
his countrymen were contented, and believing that 
they were about to enjoy a state of freedom, natu¬ 
rally wished to return to his native country. He 
resigned his pension in the year 1790, and ap¬ 
peared at the bar of the assembly with the Corsican 
deputies, when they took the oath of fidelity to 
France. But the course of events in France soon 
dispelled those hopes of a new and better order of 
things, which Paoli, in common with so many of 
the friends of humankind, had indulged : and per¬ 
ceiving, after the execution of the king, that a 
civil war was about to ensue, of which no man 
could foresee the issue, he prepared to break the 
connexion between Corsica and the French re¬ 
public. The convention suspecting such a design, 
and perhaps occasioning it by their suspicions, or¬ 
dered him to their bar. That way, he well knew, 
led to the guillotine; and, returning a respectful 
answer, he declared that he would never be found 
wanting in his duty, but pleaded age and infirmity 
as a reason for disobeying the summons. Their 
second order was more summary: and the French 
troops, who were in Corsica, aided by those of the 
natives, who were either influenced by hereditary 
party feelings, or who were sincere in jacobinism, 
took the field against him. But the people were 
with him. He repaired to Corte, the capital of 
the island, and was again invested with the autho¬ 
rity which he had held in the noonday of his 


LIFE OF NELSON, 


70 


[ 1794 . 


fame. The convention upon this denounced him 
as a rebel, and set a price upon his head. It was 
not the first time that France had proscribed Paoli. 

Paoli now opened a correspondence with Lord 
Hood, promising, if the English would make an 
attack upon St. Fiorenzo from the sea, he would, 
at the same time, attack it by land. This promise 
he was unable to perform : and Commodore Lin- 
zee, who, in reliance upon it, was sent upon this 
service, was repulsed with some loss. Lord Hood, 
who had now been compelled to evacuate Toulon, 
suspected Paoli of intentionally deceiving him. 
This was an injurious suspicion. Shortly after¬ 
wards he despatched Lieutenant-Colonel (afterward 
Sir John) Moore and Major Koehler to confer with 
him upon a plan of operations. Sir Gilbert Elliot 
accompanied them : and it was agreed, that, in 
consideration of the succours, both military and 
naval, which his Britannic Majesty should afford 
for the purpose of expelling the French, the island 
of Corsica should be delivered into the immediate 
possession of his majesty, and bind itself to acqui¬ 
esce in any settlement he might approve of con¬ 
cerning its government, and its future relation with 
Great Britain. While this negotiation was going 
on, Nelson cruised off the island with a small 
squadron, to prevent the enemy from throwing in 
supplies. Close to St. Fiorenzo the French had 
a storehouse of flour, near their only mill: he 
watched an opportunity, and landed one hundred 
and twenty men, who threw the flour into the sea, 
burnt the mill, and re-embarked before one thou¬ 
sand men, who were sent against him, could occa¬ 
sion them the loss of a single man. While he 








1794.] LIFE OF NELSON. 71 

exerted himself thus, keeping out all supplies, in¬ 
tercepting despatches, attacking their out-posts 
and forts, and cutting out vessels from the bay,— 
a species of warfare which depresses the spirit of 
an enemy even more than it injures them, because 
of the sense of individual superiority which it in¬ 
dicates in the assailants,—troops were landtd, and 
St. Fiorenzo was besieged, The French, finding 
themselves unable to maintain their post, sunk one 
of their frigates, burnt another, and retreated to 
Bastia. Lord Hood submitted to General Dundas, 
who commanded the land forces, a plan for the 
reduction of this place: the general declined co¬ 
operating, thinking the attempt impracticable, with¬ 
out a reinforcement of two thousand men, which 
he expected from Gibraltar. Upon this Lord Hood 
determined to reduce it with the naval force under 
his command; and leaving part of his fleet off 
Toulon, he came with the rest to Bastia. 

He showed a proper sense of respect for Nelson’s 
services, and of confidence in his talents, by taking 
care not to bring with him any older captain. A 
few days before their arrival, Nelson had had what 
he called a brush with the enemy. “ If I had 
had with me five hundred troops,” he said, “ to a 
certainty I should have stormed the town; and I 
believe it might have been carried. Armies go so 
slow, that seamen think they never mean to get 
forward : but I dare say they act on a surer prin¬ 
ciple, although we seldom fail.” During this par¬ 
tial action our army appeared upon the heights : 
and having reconnoitred the place, returned to St. 
Fiorenzo. “ What the general could have seen 
to make a retreat necessary,” said Nelson, “ I 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


72 


[l-94. 


cannot comprehend. A thousand men would cer¬ 
tainly take Bastia: with five hundred and Aga¬ 
memnon I would attempt it. My seamen are now 
what British seamen ought to be—almost invin¬ 
cible. They really mind shot no more than peas.” 
General Dundas had not the same confidence. 
“ After mature consideration,” he said in a letter 
to Lord Hood, “ and a personal inspection for 
several days of all circumstances, local as well as 
others, I consider the siege of Bastia, with our 
present means and force, to be a most visionary 
and rash attempt : such as no officer would be 
justified in undertaking. ” Lord Hood replied, 
that nothing would be more gratifying to his feel¬ 
ings than to have the whole responsibility upon 
himself; and that he was ready and willing to 
undertake the reduction of the place at his own 
risk, with the force and means at present there. 
General d’Aubant, who succeeded at this time to 
the command of the army, coincided in opinion 
with his predecessor, and did not think it right to 
furnish his lordship with a single soldier, cannon, 
or any stores. Lord Hood could only obtain a few 
artillery-men ; and ordering on board that part of 
the troops, who, having been embarked as marines, 
were borne on the ships’ books as part of their 
respective complements, he began the siege with 
eleven hundred and eighty-three soldiers, artillery¬ 
men, and marines, and two hundred and fifty 
sailors. “ We are but few,” said Nelson, “ but 
of the right sort; our general at St. Fiorenzo not 
giving us one of the five regiments he has there lying 
idle.” 

These men were landed on the 4th of April, 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1794. j 


73 


under Lieutenant-Colonel Villettes and Nelson, who 
had now acquired from the army the title of 
brigadier. Guns were dragged by the sailors up 
heights where it appeared almost impossible to 
convey them ;—a work of the greatest difficulty ; 
and which Nelson said could never, in his opinion, 
have been accomplished by any but British seamen. 
The soldiers, though less dexterous in such service, 
because not accustomed, like sailors, to habitual 
dexterity, behaved with equal spirit. “ Their zeal,” 
said the brigadier, “ is almost unexampled. There 
is not a man but considers himself as personally 
interested in the event, and deserted by the general. 
It has, I am persuaded, made them equal to double 
their numbers.” This is one proof, of many, that 
for our soldiers to equal our seamen, it is only 
necessary for them to be equally well commanded. 
They have the same heart and soul, as well as the 
same flesh and blood. Too much may, indeed, be 
exacted from them in a retreat; but set their face 
toward a foe, and there is nothing within the reach 
of human achievement which they cannot perform. 
The French had improved the leisure which our 
military commander had allowed them ; and before 
Lord Hood commenced his operations, he had the 
mortification of seeing that the enemy were every 
day erecting new works, strengthening old ones, and 
rendering the attempt more difficult. La Combe 
St. Michel, the commissioner from the national 
convention, who was in the city, replied in these 
terms to the summons of the British admiral: u I 
have hot shot for your ships, and bayonets for your 
troops. When two-thirds of our men are killed, 
I will then trust to the generosity of the English.” 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


74 LIFE OF NELSON. [l794. 

The siege, nowever, was not sustained with the firm¬ 
ness which such a reply seemed to augur. On the 
19th of May a treaty of capitulation was begun : 
that same evening the troops from St. Fiorenzo made 
their appearance on the hills; and, on the following 
morning, General D’Aubant arrived with the whole 
army to take possession of Bastia. 

The event of the siege had justified the confidence 
of the sailors; but they themselves excused the 
opinion of the generals, when they saw what they 
had done. “ I am all astonishment,” said Nel¬ 
son, “ when I reflect on what we have achieved; 
one thousand regulars, fifteen hundred national 
guards, and a large party of Corsican troops, four 
thousand in all,' laying down their arms to twelve 
hundred soldiers, marines and seamen ! I always 
was of opinion, have ever acted up to it, and never 

to repent it, that one English- 
to three Frenchmen. Had this 
been an English town, I am sure it would not 
have been taken by them.” When it had been 
resolved to attack the place, the enemy were sup¬ 
posed to be far inferior in number ; and it was 
not till the whole had been arranged, and the 
siege publicly undertaken, that Nelson received 
certain information of the great superiority of the 
garrison. This intelligence he kept secret, fearing 
lest, if so fair a pretext were afforded, the attempt. 
would be abandoned. “ My own honour,” said 
he to his wife, “ Lord Hood’s honour, and the 
honour of our country, must have been sacrificed, 
had I mentioned what I knew : therefore you will 
believe what must have been my feelings during 
the whole siege, when I had often proposals made 


had any reason 
man was equal 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1794/J 


75 


to me to write to Lord Hood to raise it.” Those 
very persons, who thus advised him, were rewarded 
for their conduct at the siege of Bastia: Nelson, 
by whom it may truly be affirmed that Bastia was 
taken, received no reward. Lord Hood’s thanks 
to him, both public and private, were, as he him¬ 
self said, the handsomest which man could give: 
but his signal merits were not so mentioned in the 
despatches, as to make them sufficiently known to 
the nation, nor to obtain for him from government 
those honours to which they so amply entitled him. 
This could only have arisen from the haste in which 
the despatches were written; certainly not from 
any deliberate purpose, for Lord Hood was uniformly 
his steady and sincere friend. 

One of the cartel’s ships, which carried the gar¬ 
rison of Bastia to Toulon, brought back intelligence 
that the French were about to sail from that port; 
—such exertions had they made to repair the 
damage done at the evacuation, and to fit out a 
fleet. The intelligence was speedily verified. Lord 
Hood sailed in quest of them toward the islands of 
Ilieres. The Agamemnon was with him. “ I pray 
God,” said Nelson, writing to his wife, “ that we 
mayAneet their fleet. If any accident should happen 
to me, I am sure my conduct will be such as will 
entitle you to the royal favour;—not that I have 
the least idea but I shall return to you, and full of 
honour :—if not, the Lord’s will be done. My name 
shall never be a disgrace to those who may belong 
to me. The little I have I have given to you, 
except a small annuity; I wish it was more ; but 
I have never got a farthing dishonestly :—it de¬ 
scends from clean hands. Whatever fate awaits 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


76 


L1794. 


me, I pray God to bless you, and preserve you, for 
your son’s sake.” With a mind thus prepared, and 
thus confident, his hopes and wishes seemed on the 
point of being gratified, when the enemy were dis¬ 
covered close under the land, near St. Tropez. The 
wind fell, and prevented Lord Hood from getting 
between them and the shore, as he designed: boats 
came out from Antibes and other places, to their 
assistance, and towed them within the shoals in 
Gourjean Roads, where they were protected by the 
batteries on isles St. Honore and St. Marguerite, 
and on Cape Garousse. Here the English admiral 
planned a new mode of attack, meaning to double on 
five of the nearest ships; but the wind again died 
away, and it was found that they had anchored 
in compact order, guarding the only passage for 
large ships. There was no way of affecting this 
passage, except by towing or warping the vessels; 
and this rendered the attempt impracticable. For 
this time the enemy escaped: but Nelson bore in 
mind the admirable plan of attack which Lord Hood 
had devised, and there came a day when they felt its 
tremendous effects. 

The Agamemnon was now despatched to co¬ 
operate at the siege of Calvi with General Sir 
Charles Stuart; an officer who, unfortunately foi 
his country, never had an adequate field allotted him 
for the display of those eminent talents, which 
were, to all who knew him, so conspicuous.* 
Nelson had less responsibility here than at Bastia ; 
and was acting with a man after his own heart, 


* Lord Melville was fully sensible of these talents, and bore 
testimony to them in the handsomest manner after Sir Charles’s 
death. 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


1794.] 


77 


who was never sparing of himself, and slept every 
night in the advanced battery. But the service 
was not less hard than that of the former siege. 
“We will fag ourselves to death,” said he to Lord 
Hood, “ before any blame shall lie at onr doors. 
I trust it will not be forgotten, that twenty-five 
pieces of heavy ordnance have been dragged to the 
different batteries, mounted, and, all but three, 
fought by seamen, except one artillery-man to 
point the guns.” The climate proved more de¬ 
structive than the service; for this was during the 
lion sun, as they there call our season of the dog- 
days. Of two thousand men, above half were sick, 
and the rest like so many phantoms. Nelson de¬ 
scribed himself as the reed among the oaks, bowdng 
before the storm when they were laid low by it. 
“ All the prevailing disorders have attacked me,” 
said he, “ but I have not strength enough for them 
to fasten on.” The loss from the enemy was not 
great; but Nelson received a serious injury: a shot 
struck the ground near him, and drove the sand and 
small gravel into one of his eyes. He spoke of it 
slightly'at the time: writing the same day to Lord 
Hood, he only said, that he got a little hurt that 
morning, not much; and the next day, he said, he 
should be able to attend his duty in the evening. In 
fact, he suffered it to confine him only one day ; but 
the sight was lost. 

After the fall of Calvi, his services were, by a 
strange omission, altogether overlooked; and his 
name was not even mentioned in the list of wounded. 
This was no ways imputable to the admiral, for he 
sent home to government Nelson’s journal of the 
siege, that they might fully understand the nature 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


78 


f 179*. 


of his indefatigable and unequalled exertions. If 
those exertions were not rewarded in the conspicuous 
manner which they deserved, the fault was in the 
administration of the day, not in Lord Hood. 
Nelson felt himself neglected. 4< One hundred and 
ten days,” said he, “ I have been actually engaged 
at sea and on shore, against the enemy ; three 
actions against ships, two against Bastia in my 
ship, four boat actions, and two villages taken, arid 
twelve sail of vessels burnt. I do not know that 
any one has done more. I have had the comfort to 
be always applauded by my commander-in-chief, but 
never to be rewarded: and, what is more mortifying, 
for services in which I have been wounded, others 
have been praised, who, at the same time, were actu¬ 
ally in bed, far from the scene of action. They have 
not done me justice. But never mind, I’ll have a 
gazette of my own.’’ How amply was this second- 
sight of glory realized ! 

The health of his ship’s company had now, in 
his own words, been miserably torn to pieces by as 
hard service as a ship’s crew ever performed : one 
hundred and fifty were in their beds when he left 
Calvi; of them he lost fifty, and believed that the 
constitutions of the rest were entirely destroyed. 
He was now sent with despatches to Mr. Drake, 
at Genoa, and had his first interview with the doge. 
The French had, at this time, taken possession of 
Yado Bay, in the Genoese territory; and Nelson 
foresaw, that if their thoughts were bent on the 
invasion of Italy, they would accomplish it the 
ensuing spring. “ The allied powers,” he said, 
“ were jealous of each other ; and none but Eng¬ 
land was hearty in the cause.” His wish was for 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1794-] 


79 


peace, on fair terms, because England, he thought 
was draining herself, to maintain allies who would 
not fight for themselves. Lord Hood had now re¬ 
turned to England, and the command devolved on 
Admiral Hotham. The affairs of the Mediterranean 
wore at this time a gloomy aspect. The arts, as 
well as the arms of the enemy, were gaining the 
ascendancy there. Tuscany concluded peace, re¬ 
lying upon the faith of France, which was, in fact, 
placing itself at her mercy. Corsica was in danger. 
We had taken that island for ourselves, annexed 

7 

it formally to the crown of Great Britain, and given 
it a constitution as free as our own. This was done 
with the consent of the majority of the inhabitants : 
and no transaction between two countries was ever 
more fairly or legitimately conducted: yet our 
conduct was unwise;—the island is large enough 
to form an independent state, and such we should 
have made it, under our protection, as long as pro¬ 
tection might be needed ; the Corsicans would then 
have felt as a nation; hut, when one party had 
given up the country to England, the natural con¬ 
sequence was, that the other looked to France. 
The question proposed to the people was, to which 
would they belong ? Our language and our religion 
were against us; our unaccommodating manners, 
it is to he feared, still more so. The French were 
better politicians. In intrigue they have ever been 
unrivalled; and it now became apparent, that, in 
spite of old wrongs, which ought never to have 
been forgotten nor forgiven, their partisans were 
daily acquiring strength. It is part of the policy 
of France, and a wise policy it is, to impress upon 
other powers the opinion of its strength, by lofty 


80 LIFE OF NELSON. [A 79 4. 

language, and by threatening before it strikes; a 
system which, while it keeps up the spirit of its 
allies, and perpetually stimulates their hopes, tends 
also to dismay its enemies. Corsica was now loudly 
threatened. The French, who had not yet been 
taught to feel their own inferiority upon the seas, 
braved us, in contempt, upon that element. They 
had a superior fleet in the Mediterranean, and they 
sent it out with express orders to seek the English 
and engage them. Accordingly, the Toulon fleet, 
consisting of seventeen ships of the line, and five 
smaller vessels, put to sea. Admiral Hotham re¬ 
ceived this information at Leghorn, and sailed im¬ 
mediately in search of them. He had with him 
fourteen sail of the line, and one Neapolitan seventy- 
four ; but his ships were only half manned, con¬ 
taining but seven thousand six hundred and fifty men, 
whereas the enemy had sixteen thousand nine hun¬ 
dred. lie soon came in sight of them : a general 
action was expected ; and Nelson, as was his cus¬ 
tom on such occasions, wrote a hasty letter to his 
wife, as that which might possibly contain his last 
farewell. u The lives of all/’ said he, “ are in the 
hand of Him who knows best whether to preserve 
mine or not ; my character and good name are in my 
own keeping.” 

But however confident the French government 
might be of their naval superiority, the officers had 
no such feeling : and after manoeuvring for a day 
in sight of the English fleet, they suffered them¬ 
selves to be chased. One of their ships, the Ca 
Ira, of eighty-four guns, carried away her main 
and fore top-masts. The Inconstant frigate fired at 
the disabled ship, but received so many shot, that 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1795.J 


81 


she was obliged to leave her. Soon afterwards a 
French frigate took the Ca Ira in tow ; and the 
Sans-Culottes, one hundred and twenty, and the 
Jean Barras, seventy-four, kept about gunshot dis¬ 
tance on her weather bow. The Agamemnon stood 
towards her, having no ship of the line to support 
her within several miles. As she drew near, the 
Ca Ira fired her stern guns so truly, that not a 
shot missed some part of the ship, and, latterly, 
the masts were struck by every shot. It had been 
Nelson’s intention not to fire before he touched her 
stern ; but seeing how impossible it was that he 
should be supported, and how certainly the Aga¬ 
memnon must be severely cut up, if her masts were 
disabled, he altered his plan according to the oc¬ 
casion. As soon, therefore, as he was within a 
hundred yards of her stern, lie ordered the helm to 
be put a-starboard, and the driver and after-sails 
to be brailed up and shivered; and, as the ship 
fell off, gave the enemy her whole broadside. They 
instantly braced up the after-yards, put the helm 
a-port, and stood after her again. This manoeuvre 
he practised for two hours and a quarter, never 
allowing the Ca Ira to get a single gun from either 
side to bear on him; and when the French fired 
their after-guns now, it was no longer with coolness 
and precision, for every shot went far a-head. By 
this time her sails were hanging in tatters, her 
mizen-top-mast, mizen-top-sail, and cross-jack- 
yards, shot aw’ay. But the frigate which had her 
in tow hove in stays, and got her round. Both 
these French ships now brought their guns to bear, 
and opened their fire. The Agamemnon passed 
them within half pistol-shot; almost every shot 


LIFE OF KELSON. 


82 


[1795. 


passed over her, for the French had elevated their 
guns for the rigging, and for distant firing, and did 
not think of altering the elevation. As soon as the 
Agamemnon’s after-guns ceased to bear, she hove 
in stays, keeping a constant fire as she came round; 
and being worked, said Nelson, with as much ex¬ 
actness as if she had been turning into Spithead. 
On getting round, he saw that the Sans-Culottes, 
which had wore, with many of the enemy’s ships, 
was under his lee bow, and standing to leeward. 
The admiral, at the same time, made the signal for 
the van ships to join him. Upon this Nelson bore 
away, and prepared to set all sail ; and the enemy, 
having saved their ship, hauled close to the wind, 
and opened upon him a distant and ineffectual 
fire. Only seven of the Agamemnon’s men were 
hurt—a thins which Nelson himself remarked as 

CD # 

wonderful : her sails and rigging w r ere very much 
cut, and she had many shots in her hull, and some 
between wind, and water. The Ca Ira lost one 
hundred and ten men that day, and was so cut up, 
that she could not get a top-mast aloft during the 
night. 

At daylight, on the following morning, the Eng¬ 
lish ships were taken aback with a fine breeze at 
N. W., while the enemy’s.fleet kept the southerly 
wind. The body of their fleet was about five miles 
distant ; the Ca Ira, and the Censeur, seventy-four, 
which had her in tow, about three and a half. All 
sail was made to cut these ships off; and, as the 
French attempted to save them, a partial action 
was brought on. The Agamemnon was again en¬ 
gaged with her yesterday’s antagonist ; but she had 
to fight on both sides the ship at the same time 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1795.] 


83 


The Ca Ira and the Censeur fought most gallantly: 
the first lost nearly three hundred men, in addition 
to her former loss ; the last, three hundred and 
fifty. Both at length struck : and Lieutenant An¬ 
drews, of the Agamemnon, brother to the lady to 
whom Nelson had become attached in France, and, 
in Nelson’s own words, “ as gallant an officer as 
ever stepped a quarter-deck,” hoisted English 
colours on board them both. The rest of the 
enemy’s ships behaved very ill. As soon as these 
vessels had struck, Nelson went to Admiral Hotham, 
and proposed that the two prizes should be left with 
the Illustrious and Courageux, which had been 
crippled in the action, and with four frigates, and 
that the rest of the fleet should pursue the enemy, 
and follow up the advantage to the utmost. But 
his reply was—“We must be contented : we have 
done very well.”—“ Now,” said Nelson, “ had we 
taken ten sail, and allowed the eleventh to escape, 
when it had been possible to have got at her, I 
could never have called it well done.'* Goodall 
backed me : I got him to write to the admiral ; 
but it would not do. We should have had such a 
day as, I believe, the annals of England never 
produced.” In this letter, the character of Nelson 
fully manifests itself. “ I wish,” said he, “ to be 
an admiral, and in the command of the English 
fleet: I should very soon either do much, or be 
ruined : my disposition cannot bear tame and slow 


* “ I can, entre nous," says Sir William Hamilton, in a 
letter to Nelson, “ perceive that my old friend, Hotham, is not 
quite awake enough for such a command as that of the king’s fleet 
in the Mediterranean, although he appears the best creature mm* 
gamble.” 

G 2 



LIFE OF NELSON 


84 


[1795. 


measures. Sure I am, had I commanded on the 
14th, that either the whole French fleet would have 
graced my triumph, or I should have been in a con¬ 
founded scrape.” What the event would have been, 
he knew from his prophetic feelings and his own 
consciousness of power : and we also know it now, 
for Aboukir and Trafalgar have told it. 

The Ca Ira and Censeur probably defended 
themselves with more obstinacy in this action, 
from a persuasion that, if they struck, no quarter 
would be given ; because they had fired red-hot 
shot, and had also a preparation sent, as they said, 
by the convention from Paris, which seems to have 
been of the nature of the Greek fire ; for it became 
liquid when it was discharged, and water would 
not extinguish its flames. This combustible was 

o m 

concealed with great care in the captured ships ; 
like the red-hot shot, it had been found useless in 
battle. Admiral Hotham’s action saved Corsica 
for the time; but the victory had been incomplete, 
and the arrival at Toulon of six sail of the line, two 
frigates, and two cutters from Brest, gave the French 
a superiority which, had they known how to use 
it, would materially have endangered the British 
Mediterranean fleet. That fleet had been greatly 
neglected at the admiralty during Lord Chatham’s 
administration ; and it did not, for some time, 
feel the beneficial effect of his removal. Lord 
Hood had gone home to represent the real state 
of affairs, and solicit reinforcements adequate to 
the exigencies of the time, and the importance of 
the scene of action. But that fatal error of under- 
proportioning the force to the service ; that ruinous 
economy, which, by sparing a little, renders all 


1795.] LIFE OF NELSON. 83 

that is spent useless, infected the British councils ; 
and Lord Hood, not being able to obtain such 
reinforcements as he knew were necessary, resigned 
the command. “ Surely,” said Nelson, “ the peo¬ 
ple at home have forgotten us.” Another Nea¬ 
politan seventy-four joined Admiral Hotham, and 
Nelson observed with sorrow, that this was matter 
of exultation to an English fleet. When the store- 
ships and victuallers from Gibraltar arrived, their 
escape from the enemy was thought wonderful ; 
and yet, had they not escaped, “the game,” said 
Nelson, “ was up here. At this moment our ope¬ 
rations are at a stand for want of ships to support 
the Austrians in getting possession of the sea-coast 
of the king of Sardinia; and behold our admiral 
does not feel himself equal to show himself, much 
less to give assistance in their operations.” It 
was reported that the French were again out with 
eighteen or twenty sail. The combined British 
and Neapolitan were but sixteen ; should the 
enemy be only eighteen, Nelson made no doubt 
of a complete victory; but if they were twenty, 
he said, it was not to be expected ; and a battle, 
without complete victory, would have been destruc¬ 
tion, because another mast was not to be got on that 
side Gibraltar. At length Admiral Man arrived 
with a squadron from England. “ What they can 
mean by sending him with only five sail of the line,” 
said Nelson, “is truly astonishing: but all men are 
alike, and we in this country do not find any amend¬ 
ment or alteration from the old board of admiralty. 
They should know that half the ships in the fleet 
require to go to England ; and that long ago they 
ought to have reinforced us.” 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


86 


[1795. 


About tliis time Nelson was made colonel of 
marines;—a mark of approbation which he had 
long wished for rather than expected. It came 
in good season, for his spirits were oppressed by 
the thought that his services had not been aeknow- 
lodged as they deserved; and it abated the resent¬ 
ful feeling which would else have been excited by 
the answer to an application to the war-office. 
During his four months’ land service in Corsica, 
he had lost all his ship furniture, owing to the 
movements of a camp. Upon this he wrote to the 
secretary at war, briefly stating what his services 
on shore had been, and saying, he trusted it was 
not asking an improper thing to request that the 
same allowance might be made to him which would 
be made to a land officer of his rank, which, situ¬ 
ated as he was, would be that of a brigadier-general: 
if this could not be accorded, he hoped that his 
additional expenses would be paid him. The an¬ 
swer which he received was, that u no pay haS 
ever been issued under the direction of the war- 
office to officers of the navy serving with the army 
on shore.” 

He now entered upon a new line of service. 
The Austrian and Sardinian armies, under General 
de Yins, required a British squadron to co-operate 
with them in driving the French from the Riviera 
di Genoa, and as Nelson had been so much in the 
habit of soldiering, it was immediately fixed that 
the brigadier should go. He sailed from St. Fio- 
renzo on this destination; but fell in, off Cape 
del Mele, with the enemy's fleet, who immediately 
gave his squadron chase. The chase lasted four- 
and-twenty hours ; and, owing to the fickleness of 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1795.] LIFE OF NELSON. 87 

the wind, the British ships were sometimes hard 
pressed : but the want of skill on the part of the 
French gave Nelson many advantages. lie bent 
his way back to St. Fiorenzo, where the fleet, 
which was in the midst of watering and refitting, 
had, for seven hours, the mortification of seeing 
him almost in possession of the enemy, before the 
wind would allow them to put out to his assist¬ 
ance. The French, however, at evening, went off, 
not choosing to approach nearer the shore. During 
the night, Admiral Flotham, by great exertions, 
got under weigh ; and, having sought the enemy 
four days, came in sight of them on the fifth. 
Baffling winds, and vexatious calms, so common 
in the Mediterranean, rendered it impossible to 
close with them; only a partial action could be 
brought on: and then the firing made a perfect 
calm. The French, being to windward, drew in¬ 
shore ; and the English fleet was becalmed six or 
seven miles to the westward. L’Alcide, of seventy- 
four guns, struck; but before she could be taken 
possession of, a box of combustibles in her fore-top 
took fire, and the unhappy crew experienced how 
far more perilous their inventions were to them¬ 
selves than to their enemies. So rapid was the 
conflagration, that the French in their official ac- 
count say, the hull, the masts, and sails, all seemed 
to take fire at the same moment; and though the 
English boats were put out to the assistance of 
the poor wretches on board, not more than two 
hundred could be saved. The Agamemnon, and 
Captain Rowley, in the Cumberland, were just 
getting into close action a second time, when the 
admiral called them off, the wind now blowing 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


88 


[ 1795 . 


directly into the Gulf of Frejus, where the enemy 
anchored after the evening closed. 

Nelson now proceeded to his station with eight 
sail of frigates under his command. Arriving at 
Genoa, he had a conference with Mr. Drake, the 
British envoy to that state; the result of which 
was, that the object of the British must be, to put 
an entire stop to all trade between Genoa, France, 
and the places occupied by the French troops; 
for, unless this trade were stopped, it would be 
scarcely possible for the allied armies to hold their 
situation, and impossible for them to make any 
progress in driving the enemy out of the Riviera 
di Genoa. Mr. Drake was of opinion, that even 
Nice might fall for want of supplies, if the trade 
with Genoa were cut off. This sort of blockade 
Nelson could not carry on without great risk to 
himself. A captain in the navy, as lie represented 
to the envoy, is liable to prosecution for detention 
and damages. This danger was increased by an 
order which had then lately been issued; by which, 
when a neutral ship was detained, a complete spe¬ 
cification of her cargo was directed to be sent to 
the secretary of the Admiralty, and no legal process 
instituted against her till the pleasure of that board 
should be communicated. This was requiring an 
impossibility. The cargoes of ships detained upon 
this station consisting chiefly of corn, would be 
spoiled long before the orders of the Admiralty 
could be known ; and then, if they should happen 
to release the vessel, the owners would look to 
the captain for damages. Even the only precau¬ 
tion which could be taken against this danger, 
involved another danger not less to be appre- 


. LIFE OF NELSON. 89 

hended : for, if the captain should direct the cargo 
to be taken out, the freight paid for, and the vessel 
released, the agent employed might prove fraudu¬ 
lent, and become bankrupt; and in that case the 
captain became responsible. Such things had hap¬ 
pened : Nelson therefore required, as the only means 
for carrying on that service, which was judged 
essential to the common cause, without exposing 
the officers to ruin, that the British envoy should 
appoint agents to pay the freight, release the ves¬ 
sels, sell the cargo, and hold the amount till process 
was had upon it: government thus securing its 
officers. u I am acting,” said Nelson, u not only 
without the orders of my commander-in-chief, but, 
in some measure, contrary to him. However, I 
have not only the support of his majesty’s ministers, 
both at Turin and Genoa, but a consciousness that 
I am doing what is right and proper for the ser¬ 
vice of our king and country. Political courage, 
in an officer abroad, is as highly necessary as military 
courage.” 

This quality, which is as much rarer than military 
courage as it is more valuable, and without which 
the soldier’s bravery is often of little avail, Nelson 
possessed in an eminent degree. His representa¬ 
tions were attended to as they deserved. Admiral 
Ilotham commended hini for what he had done; 
and the attention of government was awakened to 
the injury which the cause of the allies continually 
suffered from the frauds of neutral vessels. “ What 
changes in my life of activity !” said this indefati¬ 
gable man. u Here I am ; having commenced a 
co-operation with an old Austrian general, almost 
fancying myself charging at the head of a troop of 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


90 



horse! I do not write less than from ten to twenty 
letters every day : which, with the Austrian general 
and aides-de-camp, and my own little squadron, fully 
employ my time. This I like ;—active service, or 
none.” It was Nelson’s mind which supported his 
feeble body through these exertions. He was at 
this time almost blind, and wrote with very great 
pain. “ Poor Agamemnon,” he sometimes said, 
44 was as nearly worn out as her captain: and both 
must soon be laid up to repair.” 

When Nelson first saw General de Vins, he 
thought him an able man, who was willing to act 
with vigour. The general charged his inactivity 
upon the Piedmontese and Neapolitans, whom, he 
said, nothing could induce to act; and he con¬ 
certed a plan with Nelson, for embarking a part of 
the Austrian army, and landing it in the rear of 
the French. But the English commodore soon 
began to suspect that the Austrian general was 
little disposed to any active operations. In the 
hope of spurring him on, he wrote to him, telling 
him that he had surveyed the coast to the west¬ 
ward as far as Nice, and would undertake to em¬ 
bark four or five thousand men, with their arms 
and a few days’ provisions, on board the squadron, 
and land them within two miles of St. Remo, with 
their field-pieces. Respecting farther provis ons 
for the Austrian army, he would provide convoy-', 
that they should arrive in safety ; and, if a re¬ 
embarkation should be found necessary, he would 
cover it with the squadron. The posscss-ion of St. 
Remo, as head-quarters for magazines of every 
kind, would enable the Austrian general to turn 
his army to the eastward or westward. Ti e enemy 


V 


1795.] LIFE OF NELSON. 91 

at Oneglia would be cut off from provisions, and 
men could be landed to attack that place when¬ 
ever it was judged necessary. St. Remo was the 
only place between Yado and Ville Franche where 
the squadron could lie in safety, and anchor in 
almost all winds. The bay was not as good as 
Vado for large ships; but it had a mole, which 
Yado had not, where all small vessels could lie, 
and load and unload their cargoes. This bay being 
in possession of the allies, Nice could be com¬ 
pletely blockaded by sea. General de Yins affect¬ 
ing, in his reply, to consider that Nelson’s proposal 
had no other end than that of obtaining the bay of 
St. Remo as a station for the ships, told him, what 
he well knew, and had expressed before, that Yado 
Bay was a better anchorage ; nevertheless, if Mon¬ 
sieur le Commandant Nelson was well assured that 
part of the fleet could winter there, there was no 
risk to which he would not expose himself with 
pleasure, for the sake of procuring a safe station 
for the vessels of his Britannic majesty. Nelson 
soon assured the Austrian commander that this was 
not the object of his memorial. He now began 
to suspect that both the Austrian court and their 
general had other ends in view than the cause 
of the allies. “ This army,” said he, “ is slow 
beyond all description ; and I begin to think that 
the emperor is anxious to touch another four 
millions of English money. As for the German 
generals, war is their trade, and peace is ruin to 
them ; therefore we cannot expect that they should 
have anj 7 wish to finish the war. The politics of 
courts are so mean, that private people would be 
ashamed to act in the same way; all is trick and 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


92 


[1795. 


finesse, to which the common cause is sacrificed. 
The general wants a loop-hole ; it has for some time 
appeared to me that he means to go no farther 
than his present position, and to lay the miscarriage 
of the enterprise against Nice, which has always 
been held out as the great object of his army, to 
the non-co-operation of the British fleet, and of the 
Sardinians.” 

To prevent this plea, Nelson again addressed De 
Vins, requesting only to know the time, and the 
number of troops ready to embark ; then he would, 
he said, despatch a ship to Admiral Hotham, re¬ 
questing transports, having no doubt of obtaining 
them, and trusting that the plan would be successful 
to its fullest extent. Nelson thought at the time, 
that if the whole fleet were offered him for trans¬ 
ports, he would find some other excuse: and Mr. 
Drake, who was now appointed to reside at the 
Austrian head-quarters, entertained the same idea 
of the general’s sincerity. It w~as not, however, 
put so clearly to the proof as it ought to have been. 
He replied, that as soon as Nelson could declare 
himself ready with the vessels necessary for con¬ 
veying ten thousand men, with their artillery and 
baggage, he would put the army in motion. But 
Nelson was not enabled to do this : Admiral Ho¬ 
tham, who w’as highly meritorious in leaving such 
a man so much at his own discretion, pursued a cau¬ 
tious system, ill according with the bold and com¬ 
prehensive views of Nelson, who continually regretted 
Lord Hood, saying, that the nation had suffered 
much by his resignation of the Mediterranean com¬ 
mand. The plan which had been concerted, he 
said, would astonish the French, and perhaps the 
English. 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


1795 .] 


93 


There was no unity in the views of the allied powers, 
no cordiality in their co-operation, no energy in their 
councils. The neutral powers assisted France more 
effectually than the allies assisted each other. The 
Genoese ports were at this time filled with French 
privateers, which swarmed out every night, and 
covered the gulf: and French vessels were allowed 
to tow out of the port of Genoa itself, board vessels 
which were coming in, and then return into the 
mole. This was allowed without a remonstrance; 
while, though Nelson abstained most carefully from 
offering any offence to the Genoese territory or flag, 
complaints were so repeatedly made against his 
squadron, that, he says, it seemed a trial who 
should be tired first; they of complaining, or he 
of answering their complaints. But the question 
of neutrality was soon at an end. An Austrian 
commissary was travelling from Genoa towards 
Yado ; it was known that he was to sleep at Yol- 
tri, and that he had £10,000 with him : a booty 
which the French minister in that city, and the 
captain of a French frigate in that port, considered 
as far more important than the word of honour of 
the one, the duties of the other, and the Jaws of 
neutrality. The boats of the frigate went out with 
some privateers, landed, robbed the commissary, and 
brought back the money to Genoa. The next 
day men were publicly enlisted in that city for the 
French army: seven hundred men were embarked, 
with seven thousand stand of arms, on board the 
frigates and other vessels, who were to land between 
Yoltri and Savona:—there a detachment from the 
French army was to join them, and the Genoese 
peasantry were to be invited to insurrection, — a 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


94 LIFE OF NELSON. [ 1795. 

measure for which everything had been prepared. 
The night of the 1.3th was fixed for the sailing of 
this expedition: the Austrians called loudly for 
Nelson to prevent it; and he, on the evening of 
the 13th, arrived at Genoa. Ilis presence checked 
the plan: the frigate, knowing her deserts, got 
within the merchant-ships, in the inner mole; and 
the Genoese government did not now even demand 
of Nelson respect to the neutral port, knowing that 
they had allowed, if not connived at, a flagrant breach 
of neutrality, and expecting the answer which he 
was prepared to return, that it was useless and im¬ 
possible for him to respect it longer. 

But though this movement produced the imme¬ 
diate effect which was designed, it led to ill conse¬ 
quences, which Nelson foresaw, but, for want of 
sufficient force, was unable to prevent. His squad¬ 
ron was too small for the service which it had to 
perform. He required two seventy-fours, and eight 
or ten frigates and sloops ; but when he demanded 
this reinforcement, Admiral Hotham had left the 
command; Sir Hyde Parker succeeded till the 
new commander should arrive; and he immediately 
reduced it almost to nothing, leaving him only 
one frigate and a brig. This was a fatal error. 
While the Austrian and Sardinian troops, whether 
from the imbecility or the treachery of their leaders, 
remained inactive, the French were preparing for 
the invasion of Italy. Not many days before Nel¬ 
son was thus summoned to Genoa, he chased a 
large convoy into Alassio. Twelve vessels he had 
formerly destroyed in that port, though two thou¬ 
sand French troops occujned the town : this former 
attack had made them take new measures of do- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1795.] 


G5 


fence ; ancl there were now above one hundred sail 
of victuallers, gun-boats, and ships of war. Nelson 
represented to the Admiral how important it was to 
destroy these vessels ; and offered, with his squad¬ 
ron of frigates, and the Culloden and Courageux, 
to lead himself in the Agamemnon, and take or 
destroy the whole. The attempt was not permitted : 
but it was Nelson’s belief, that, if it had been made, 
it would have prevented the attack upon the Aus¬ 
trian army, which took place almost immediately 
afterwards. 

General de Vins demanded satisfaction of the 
Genoese government for the seizure of his commis¬ 
sary ; and then, without waiting for their reply, 
took possession of some empty magazines of the 
French, and pushed his sentinels to the very gates 
of Genoa. TIad he done so at first, he would have 
found the magazines full ; but, timed as the mea¬ 
sure was, and useless as it was to the cause of the 
allies, it was in character with the whole of the 
Austrian General’s conduct: and it is no small 
proof of the dexterity with which he served the 
enemy, that in such circumstances he could so act 
with Genoa, as to contrive to put himself in the 
wrong. Nelson was at this time, according to his 
own expression, placed in a cleft stick. Mr. Drake, 
the Austrian minister, and the Austrian general, 
all joined in requiring him not to leave Genoa : if 
he left that port unguarded, they said, not only the 
imperial troops at St. Pier d’Arena and Voltri 
would be lost, but the French plan for taking post 
between Voltri and Savona would certainly suc¬ 
ceed ; if the Austrians should be worsted in the 
advanced posts, the retreat of the Bocchetta would 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


96 


[1795. 


be cut off; and, if this happened, the loss of the 
army would be imputed to him, for having left 
Genoa. On the other hand, he knew, that if he 
were not at Pietra, the enemy’s gun-boats would 
harass the left flank of the Austrians, who, if they 
were defeated, as was to be expected, from the 
spirit of all their operations, would, very probably, 
lay their defeat to the want of assistance from the 
Agamemnon. Had the force for which Nelson 
applied been given him, he could have attended to 
both objects ; and had he been permitted to attack 
the convoy in Alassio, he would have disconcerted 
the plans of the French, in spite of the Austrian 
general. He had foreseen the danger, and pointed 
out how it might be prevented; but the means of 
preventing it were withheld. The attack was made 
as he foresaw; and the gun-boats brought their 
fire to bear upon the Austrians. It so happened, 
however, that the left flank, which was exposed to 
them, was the only part of the army that behaved 
well; this division stood its ground till the centre 
and the right wing fled, and then retreated in a 
soldierlike manner. General de Tins gave up the 
command in the middle of the battle, pleading ill 
health. “ From that moment,” says Nelson, 44 not 
a soldier staid at his post:—it was the devil take 
the hindmost. Many thousands ran aw T ay who had 
never seen the enemy ; some of them thirty miles 
from the advanced posts. Had I not, though, I 
own, against my inclination, been kept at Genoa, 
from eight to ten thousand men would have been 
taken prisoners, and, amongst the number, General 
de Tins himself: but, by this means, the pass of 
the Bocchetta was kept open. The purser of the 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1795.] LIFE OF NELSON. 97 

ship, who was at Vado, ran with the Austrians 
eighteen miles without stopping; the men without 
arms, officers without soldiers, women without as¬ 
sistance. The oldest officer, say they, never heard 
of so complete a defeat, and certainly without any 
reason. Thus has ended my campaign.—We have 
established the French republic ; which, but for us, 
I verily believe, would never have been settled by 
such a volatile, changeable people. I hate a French¬ 
man : they are equally objects of my detestation, 
whether royalists or republicans : in some points, 
I believe, the latter are the best.” Nelson had a 
lieutenant and two midshipmen taken at Vado : 
they told him, in their letter, that few of the French 
soldiers were more than three or four and twenty 
years old, a great many not more than fourteen, and 
all were nearly naked: they were sure, they said, 
his barge’s crew could have beat a hundred of 
them ; and that, had he himself seen them, he would 
not have thought, if the world had been covered with 
such people, that they could have beaten the Aus¬ 
trian army. 

The defeat of General de Vins gave the enemy 
possession of the Genoese coast from Savona to 
Voltri; and it deprived the Austrians of their direct 
communication with the English fleet. The Aga¬ 
memnon, therefore, could no longer be useful on this 
station, and Nelson sailed for Leghorn to refit. 
When his ship went into dock, there was not a mast, 
yard, sail, or any part of the rigging, but what stood 
in need of repair, having been cut to pieces with 
shot. The hull was so damaged, that it had for 
some time been secured by cables, which were served 
or thrapped round it. 


93 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


[1795. 


CHAPTER IY. 

Sir J. Jervis takes the command—Genoa joins the French—Buo¬ 
naparte begins his career—Evacuation of Corsica—Nelson 
hoists his broad pendant in the Minerve—Action with the 
Sabina—Battle off Cape St. Vincent—Nelson commands the 
inner Squadron at the blockade of Cadiz—Boat Action in the 
Bay of Cadiz—Expedition against Teneriffe—Nelson loses an 
Arm—His Sufferings in England, and Recovery. 

Sir John Jervis had now arrived to take the 
command of the Mediterranean fleet. The Aga¬ 
memnon having, as her captain said, been made as 
fit for sea as a rotten ship could be, Nelson sailed 
from Leghorn, and joined the admiral in Fiorenzo 
Bay. “ I found him,” said he, “ anxious to know 
many things, which I was a good deal surprised to 
find had not been communicated to him by others 
in the fleet; and it would appear that he was so well 
satisfied with my opinion of what is likely to happen, 
and the means of prevention to be taken, that he 
had no reserve with me respecting his information 
and ideas of what is likely to be done.” The manner 
in which Nelson was received is said to have excited 
some envy. One captain observed to him : u You 
did just as you pleased in Lord Hood’s time, the 
same in Admiral Hotham’s, and now again with Sir 
John Jervis : it makes no difference to you who is 
commander-in-chief.” A higher compliment could 
not have been paid to any commander-in-cliief, than 
to say of him, that he understood the merits of 
Nelson, and left him, as far as possible, to act upon 
his own judgment. 

Sir John Jervis offered him the St. George, ninety, 
or the Zealous, seventy-four, and asked if he should 


1796.] LIFE OF NELSON. 99 

have any objection to serve under him with his flag. 
He replied, that if the Agamemnon were ordered 
home, and his flag were not arrived, lie should, on 
many accounts, wish to return to England : still, if 
the war continued, he should be very proud of 
hoisting his flag under Sir Johns command. “We 
cannot spare you,” said Sir John, “ either as captain 
or admiral.” Accordingly, he resumed his station in 
the Gulf of Genoa. The French had not followed 
up their successes in that quarter with their usual 
celerity. Scherer, who commanded there, owed his 
advancement to any other cause than his merit: he 
was a favourite of the directory; but, for the present, 
through the influence of Barras, he was removed 
from a command for which his incapacity was 
afterwards clearly proved, and Buonaparte was ap¬ 
pointed to succeed him. Buonaparte had given 
indications of his military talents at Toulon, and of 
his remorseless nature at Paris : but the extent, 
either of his ability or his wickedness, was at this 
time known to none, and, perhaps, not even sus¬ 
pected by himself. 

Nelson supposed, from the information which 
he had obtained, that one column of the French 
army would take possession of Port Especia ; either 
penetrating through the Genoese territory, or pro¬ 
ceeding coast ways in light vessels; our ships of 
war not being able to approach the coast, because 
of the shallowness of the water. To prevent this, 
he said, two things were necessary,—the possession 
of Vado Bay, and the taking of Port Especia : if 
either of these points were secured, Italy would 
be safe from any attack of the French by sea. 
General Beaulieu, who had now superseded De Tins 

ii 2 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


100 


[1796. 


in the command of the allied Austrian and Sardi¬ 
nian army, sent his nephew and aide-de-camp to 
communicate with Nelson, and inquire whether he 
could anchor in any other place than Yado Bay. 
Nelson replied, that Yado was the only place 
where the British fleet could lie in safety: but all 
places would suit his squadron ; and wherever the 
general came down to the sea-coast, there he 
should And it. The Austrian repeatedly asked, if 
there was not a risk of losing the squadron ? and 
was constantly answered, that if these ships should 
be lost, the admiral would find others. But all 
plans of co-operation with the Austrians were soon 
frustrated by the battle of Montenotte. Beaulieu 
ordered an attack to be made upon the post of 
Yoltri:—it was made twelve hours before the time 
which he had fixed, and before he arrived to direct 
it. In consequence, the French were enabled to 
effect their retreat, and fall back to Montenotte; 
thus giving the troops there a decisive superiority 
in number over the division wdiich attacked them. 
This drew on the defeat of the Austrians. Buo¬ 
naparte, with a celerity which had never. before 
been witnessed in modern war, pursued his advan¬ 
tages ; and, in the course of a fortnight, dictated 
to the court of Turin terms of peace, or rather of 
stiomission; by which all the strongest places of 
Piedmont were put into his hands. 

On one occasion, and only on one, Nelson was 
able to impede the progress of this new conqueror. 
Six vessels, laden with cannon and ordnance-stores 
lor the siege of Mantua, sailed from Toulon for 
St. Pier d’Arena. Assisted by Captain Cockburn, 
in the Meleager, he drove them under a battery 




1796.3 LIFE OF NELSON. 101 

pursued them, silenced the batteries, and captured 
the whole. Military books, plans, and maps of 
Italy, with the different points marked upon them 
where former battles had been fought, sent by the 
directory for Buonaparte’s use, were found in the 
convoy. The loss of this artillery was one of the 
chief causes which compelled the French to raise 
the siege of Mantua: but there was too much trea¬ 
chery, and too much imbecility, both in the coun¬ 
cils and armies of the allied powers, for Austria 
to improve this momentary success. Buonaparte 
perceived that the conquest of all Italy was within 
his reach. treaties, and the rights of neutral or 
of friendly powers, were as little regarded by him 
as by the government for which he acted : in open 
contempt of both he entered Tuscany, and took 
possession of Leghorn. In consequence of this 
movement, Nelson blockaded that port, and landed 
a British force in the Isle of Elba, to secure Porto 
Ferrajo. Soon afterwards he took the Island of 
Capraja, which had formerly belonged to Corsica. * 
being less than forty miles distant from it; a dis¬ 
tance, however, short as it was, which enabled the 
Genoese to retain it, after their infamous sale of 
Corsica to France. Genoa had now taken part 
with France: its government had long covertly 
assisted the French, and now willingly yielded to 
the first compulsory menace which required them 
to exclude the English from their ports. Capraja 
v/as seized, in consequence: but this act of vigour 
was not followed up as it ought to have been. 
England at that time depended too much upon 
the feeble governments of the Continent, and too 
little upon itself. It was determined by the British 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


102 


[17 96 


cabinet to evacuate Corsica, as soon as Spain 
should form an offensive alliance with France. 
This event, which, from the moment that Spain 
had been compelled to make peace, was clearly 
v foreseen, had now taken place; and orders for the 
evacuation of the island were immediately sent 
Out. It was impolitic to annex this island to the 
British dominions; hut, having done so, it was 
disgraceful thus to abandon it. The disgrace 
would have been spared, and every advantage 
which could have been derived from the possession 
of the island secured, if the people had at first 
been left to form a government for themselves, 
and protected by us in the enjoyment of their in¬ 
dependence. 

The viceroy, Sir Gilbert Elliott, deeply felt the 
impolicy and ignominy of this evacuation. The 
fleet also was ordered to leave the Mediterranean. 
This resolution was so contrary to the last instruc¬ 
tions which had been received, that Nelson ex¬ 
claimed :—“ Do his majesty’s ministers know their 
own minds ? They at home,” said he, “ do not 
know what this fleet is capable of performing—any¬ 
thing and everything, Much as I shall rejoice to 
see England, I lament our present orders in sack¬ 
cloth and ashes, so dishonourable to the dignity of 
England, whose fleets are equal to meet the world 
in arms: and of all the fleets I ever saw, I never 
beheld one, in point of officers and men, equal to 
Sir John Jervis’s, who is a commander-in-chief able 
to lead them to glory.” Sir Gilbert Elliott be- 
s lieved that the great body of the Corsicans were 
perfectly satisfied, as they had good reason to be, 
with the British government, sensible of its advan- 


1796.] LIFE OF NELSON. 103 

tages, and attached to it. However this may have 
been, when they found that the English intended 
to evacuate the island, they naturally and necessa¬ 
rily sent to make their peace with the French. 
The partisans of France found none to oppose 
them. A committee of thirty took upon them the 
government of Bastia, and sequestrated all the 
British property: armed Corsicans mounted guard 
at every place, and a plan was laid for seizing the 
viceroy. Nelson, who was appointed to superin¬ 
tend the evacuation, frustrated these projects. At 
a time when every one else despaired of saving 
stores, cannon, provisions, or property of any kind, 
and a privateer was moored across the mole-head 
to prevent all boats from passing, he sent word to 
the committee, that if the slightest opposition were 
made to the embarkment and removal of British 
property, he would batter the town down. The 
privateer pointed her guns at the officer who car¬ 
ried this message, and muskets were levelled against 
his boats from the mole-head. Upon this, Capt. 
Sutton, of the Egmont, pulling out his watch, gave 
them a quarter of an hour to deliberate upon their 
answer. In five minutes after the expiration of 
that time, the ships, he said, would open their fire. 
Upon this the very sentinels scampered off, and 
every vessel came out of the mole. A ship-owner 
complained to the commodore, that the munici¬ 
pality refused to let him take his goods out of the 
custom-house. Nelson directed him to say, that 
unless they were instantly delivered, he would 
open his fire. The committee turned pale, and, 
without answering a word, gave him the keys. 
Their last attempt was to levy a duty upon the 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


104 


[1796. 


things that were re-embarked. II e sent them 
word, that he would pay them a disagreeable visit, 
if there were any more complaints. The com¬ 
mittee then finding that they had to deal with a 
man who knew his own power, and was deter¬ 
mined to make the British name respected, de¬ 
sisted from the insolent conduct which they had 
assumed: and it was acknowledged that Bastia 
never had been so quiet and orderly since the 
English were in possession of it. This was on the 
14th of October : during the five following days 
the work of embarkation was carried on, the pri¬ 
vate property was saved, and public stores to the 
amount of £200,000. The French, favoured by 
the Spanish fleet, which was at that time within 
twelve leagues of Bastia, pushed over troops from 
Leghorn, who landed near Cape Corse on the 18th ; 
and, on the 20th, at one in the morning, entered 
the citadel, an hour only after the British had 
spiked the guns, and evacuated it. Nelson em¬ 
barked at day-break, being the last person who left 
the shore; having thus, as he said, seen the first 
and the last of Corsica. Provoked at the conduct 
of the municipality, and the disposition which the 
populace had shown to profit by the confusion, he 
turned toward the shore, as he stepped into his 
boat, and exclaimed: “ Now, John Corse, follow 
the natural bent of your detestable character— 
plunder and revenge.” This, however, was not 
Nelson’s deliberate opinion of the people of Cor¬ 
sica ; he knew that their vices were the natural 
consequences of internal anarchy and foreign op¬ 
pression, such as the same causes would produce 
in any people: and when he saw, that of all those 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1796.] 


105 


who took leave of the vicerov, there was not one 
who parted from him without tears, he acknow¬ 
ledged, that they manifestly acted not from dislike 
of the English, but from fear of the French. Eng¬ 
land then might, with more reason, reproach her 
own rulers for pusillanimity, than the Corsicans for 
ingratitude. 

Having thus ably effected this humiliating ser¬ 
vice, Nelson was ordered to hoist his broad pendant 
on board the Minerve frigate, Capt. George Cock- 
burn, and, with the Blanche under his command, 
proceed to Porto Ferrajo, and superintend the 
evacuation of that place also. On his way, he fell 
in with two Spanish frigates, the Sabina and the 
Ceres. The Minerve engaged the former, which 
was commanded by D. Jacobo Stuart, a descendant 
of the Duke of Berwick. After an action of three 
hours, during which the Spaniards lost one hundred 
and sixty-four men, the Sabina struck. The 
Spanish captain, who was the only surviving officer, 
had hardly been conveyed on board the Minerve, 
when another enemy’s frigate came up, compelled 
her to cast off the prize, and brought her a 
second time to action. After half an hour’s trial 
of strength, this new antagonist wore and hauled 
off: but a Spanish squadron of two ships of the line 
and two frigates came in sight. The Blanche, from 
which the Ceres had got off, was far to wind¬ 
ward, and the Minerve escaped only by the anxiety 
of the enemy to recover their own ship. As soon 
as Nelson reached Porto Ferrajo, he sent his pri¬ 
soner in a flag of truce to Carthagena, having 
returned him his sword; this he did in honour of 
the gallantry which D. Jacobo had displayed, and 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


106 


[1796. 


not without some feeling of respect for his ancestry. 

» “ I felt it,” said he, “ consonant to the dignity of my 
country, and I always act as I feel right, without 
regard to custom : he was reputed the best officer in 
Spain, and his men were worthy of such a com¬ 
mander.” By the same flag of truce he sent back all 
the Spanish prisoners at Porto Ferrajo ; in exchange 
for whom he received his own men who had been 
taken in the prize. 

General de Burgh, who commanded at the Isle 
of Elba, did not think himself authorised to aban¬ 
don the place, till he had received specific instruc¬ 
tions from England to that effect ; professing that 
he was unable to decide between the contradictory 
orders of Government, or to guess at what their 
present intentions might be : but he said, his only 
motive for urging delay in this measure arose from 
a desire that his own conduct might be properly 
sanctioned, not from any opinion that Porto Ferrajo 
ought to be retained. But Naples having made 
peace, Sir J. Jervis considered his business with 
Italy as concluded ; and the protection of Portu¬ 
gal was the point to which he was now instructed 
to attend. Nelson, therefore, whose orders were 
perfectly clear and explicit, withdrew the whole 
naval establishment from that station, leaving the 
transports victualled, and so arranged, that all the 
troops and stores could be embarked in three days. 
He was now about to leave the Mediterranean. 
Mr. Drake, who had been our minister at Genoa, 
expressed to him, on this occasion, the very high 
opinion which the allies entertained of his conspi¬ 
cuous merit; adding, that it was impossible for 
any one, who had the honour of co-operating with 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1797.] LIFE OF NELSON. 107 

him, not to admire the activity, talents, and zeal, 
which he had so eminently and constantly displayed. 
In fact, during this long course of services in the 
Mediterranean, the whole of his conduct had exhi¬ 


bited the same zeal, the same indefatigable energy, 
the same intuitive judgment, the same prompt and 
unerring decision, which characterised his after¬ 
career of glory. His name was as yet hardly known 
to the English public; but it was feared and re¬ 
spected throughout Italy. A letter came to him, 
directed “ Horatio Nelson, Genoa and the writer, 
when he was asked how he could direct it so 
vaguely, replied, “ Sir, there is but one Horatio 
Nelson in the world.” At Genoa, in particular, 
where he had so long been stationed, and where 
the nature of his duty first led him to continual 
disputes with the government, and afterwards com¬ 
pelled him to stop the trade of the port, he was 
equally respected by the doge and by the people : 
for, while he maintained the rights and interests 
of Great Britain with becoming firmness, he tem ¬ 
pered the exercise of power witli courtesy and 
humanity, wherever duty would permit. “ Had 
all my actions,” said he, writing at this time to his 
wife, u been gazetted, not one fortnight would have 
passed, during the whole war, without a letter from 
me. One day or other I will have a long gazette 
to myself. I feel that such an opportunity will 
be given me. I cannot, if I am in the field of glory, 
be kept out of sight: wherever there is anything 
to be done, there Providence is sure to direct my 
steps.” 

These hopes and anticipations were soon to be 
fulfilled. Nelson’s mind had long been irritated 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


108 


[1797. 


and depressed by the fear that a general action 
would take place before he could join the fleet. 
At length he sailed from Porto Ferrajo with a con¬ 
voy for Gibraltar : and having reached that place, 
proceeded to the westward in search of the admiral. 
Off the mouth of the Straits he fell in with the 
Spanish fleet; and, on the 13th of February, reach¬ 
ing the station off Cape St. Vincent, communi¬ 
cated this intelligence to Sir John Jervis. He was 
now directed to shift his broad pendant on board 
the Captain, seventy-four, Capt. R. W. Miller ; 
and, before sunset, the signal was made to prepare 
for action, and to keep, during the night, in close 
order. At daybreak the enemy were in sight. The 
British force consisted of two ships of one hundred 
guns, two of ninety-eight, two of ninety, eight of 
seventy-four, and one sixty-four; fifteen of the line 
in all; with four frigates, a sloop, and a cutter. 
The Spaniards had one four-decker, of one hundred 
and thirty-six guns ; six three-deckers, of one hun¬ 
dred and twelve ; two eighty-fours : eighteen seventy- 
fours ; in all, twenty-seven ships of the line, with 
ten frigates and a brig. Their admiral D. Joseph 
de Cordova, had learnt from an American, on 
the 5th, that the English had only nine ships, 
which was indeed the case when his informer had 
seen them; for a reinforcement of five ships from 
England, under Admiral Parker, had not then 
joined, and the Culloden had parted company. 
Upon this information, the Spanish commander, 
instead of going into Cadiz, as was his intention 
when he sailed from Carthagena, determined to 
seek an enemy so inferior in force ; and relying, 
with fatal confidence, upon the American account, 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


J 797.] 


109 


he suffered his ships to remain too far dispersed, 
and in some disorder. When the morning of the 
14th broke, and discovered the English fleet, a fog 
for some time concealed their number. That fleet 
had heard their signal-guns during the night, the 
weather being fine, though thick and hazy; soon 
after daylight they were seen very much scattered, 
while the British ships were in a compact little body. 
The look-out ship of the Spaniards fancying that 
her signal was disregarded, because so little notice 
seemed to be taken of it, made another signal, that 
the English force consisted of forty sail of the line. 
The captain afterwards said, he did this to rouse 
the admiral : it had the effect of perplexing him, and 
alarming the whole fleet. The absurdity of such 
an act shows what was the state of the Spanish navy 
under that miserable government, by which Spain 
was so long oppressed and degraded, and finally be¬ 
trayed. In reality, the general incapacity of the naval 
oflicers was so well known, that in a pasquinade, 
which about this time appeared at Madrid, wherein 
the different orders of the state were advertised 
for sale, the greater part of the sea-officers, with all 
their equipments, were offered as a gift: and it 
was added, that any person who would please to 
take them, should receive a handsome gratuity. 
When the probability that Spain would take part 
in the war, as an ally of France, was first contem¬ 
plated, Nelson said that then fleet, if it were no 
better than when it acted in alliance with us, would 
“ soon be done for.” 

Before the enemy could form a regular order of 
battle, Sir J. Jervis, by carrying a press of sail, 
came up with them, passed through their fleet, 


110 LIFE OF NELSON. [l797. 

then tacked, and thus cut off nine of their ships 
from the main body. These ships attempted to 
form on the larboard tack, either with a design of 
passing through the British line, or to leeward of 
it, and thus rejoining their friends. Only one of 
them succeeded in this attempt; and that only 
because she was so covered with smoke, that her 
intention was not discovered till she had reached 
the rear: the others were so warmly received, that 
they put about, took to flight, and did not appear 
again in the action till its close. The admiral 
was now able to direct his attention to the enemy s 
main body, which was still superior in number to 
his whole fleet, and greatly so in weight of metal. 
He made signal to tack in succession. Nelson, 
whose station was in the rear of the British line, 
perceived that the Spaniards were bearing up be¬ 
fore the wind, with an intention of forming their 
line, going large, and joining their separated ships; 
or else, of getting off without an engagement. To 
prevent either of these schemes, he disobeyed the 
signal without a moment’s hesitation, and ordered 
his ship to be wore. This at once brought him 
into action with the Santissima Trinidad, one hun¬ 
dred and thirty-six, the San Joseph, one hundred 
and twelve, the Salvador del Mundo, one hundred 
and twelve, the San Nicolas, eighty, the San Isidro, 
seventy-four, another seventy-four, and another first 
rate. Trowbridge, in the Culloden, immediately 
joined, and most nobly supported him : and for 
nearly an hour did the Culloden and Captain main¬ 
tain what Nelson called “ this apparently, but not 
really unequal contest;”—such was the advantage 
of skill and discipline, and the confidence which 


1797.] LIFE OF NELSON. Ill 

brave men derive from them. The Blenheim then 
passing between them and the enemy, gave them a 
respite, and poured in her fire upon the Spaniards. 
The Salvador del Mundo and San Isidro dropped 
a-stern, and were fired into, in a masterly style, by 
the Excellent, Capt. Colling wood. The San Isidro 
struck ; and Nelson thought that the Salvador struck 
also. “ But Collingwood,” says he, 44 disdaining 
the parade of taking possession of beaten enemies, 
most gallantly pushed up, with every sail set, to 
save his old friend and messmate, who was, to ap¬ 
pearance, in a critical situation for the Captain 
was at this time actually fired upon by three first- 
rates, by the San Nicolas, and by a seventy-four, 
within about pistol-shot of that vessel. The Blen¬ 
heim was a-liead, the Culloden crippled and a-stern. 
Collingwood ranged up, and hauling up his main¬ 
sail just a-stern, passed within ten feet of the Sail 
Nicolas, giving her a most tremendous fire, then 
passed on for the Santissima Trinidad. The San 
Nicolas luffing up, the San Joseph fell on board her, 
and Nelson resumed his station a-breast of them, 
and close alongside. The Captain was now inca¬ 
pable of farther service, either in the line or in chase : 
she had lost her foretop-mast ; not a sail, shroud, or 
rope was left, and her wheel was shot away. Nelson, 
therefore, directed Capt. Miller to put the helm a- 
starboard, and, calling for the boarders, ordered them 
to board. 

Capt. Berry, who had lately been Nelson’s first 
lieutenant, was the first man who leaped into the 
enemy’s mizen chains. Miller, when in the very 
act of going, was ordered by Nelson to remain. 
Berry was supported from the spritsail-yard, which 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


112 


[1797. 


locked in the San Nicolas’s main rigging. A soldier 
of the sixty-ninth broke the upper quarter-gallery 
window, and jumped in, followed by the commo¬ 
dore himself, and by others as fast as possible. 
The cabin doors were fastened, and the Spanish 
officers fired their pistols at them through the win¬ 
dow : the doors were soon forced, and the Spanish 
brigadier fell while retreating to the quarter-deck. 
Nelson pushed on, and found Berry in possession 
of the poop, and the Spanish ensign hauling down. 
He passed on to the forecastle, where he met two 
or three Spanish officers, and received their swords. 
The English were now in full possession of every 
part of the ship ; when a fire of pistols and mus¬ 
ketry opened upon them from the admiral’s stern- 
gallery of the San Joseph. Nelson having placed 
sentinels at the different ladders, and ordered Capt. 
Miller to send more men into the prize, gave orders 
for boarding that ship from the San Nicolas. It 
was done in an instant, he himself leading the 
way, and exclaiming—“ Westminster Abbey or 
victory 1” Berry assisted him into the main chains; 
and at that moment a Spanish officer looked over 
the quarter-deck-rail, and said they surrendered. 
It was not long before he was on the quarter- deck, 
where the Spanish captain presented to him his 
sword, and told him the admiral was below, dying 
of his wounds. There, on the quarter-deck of an 
enemy’s first-rate, he received the swords of the 
officers; giving them, as they were delivered, one 
by one, to William Fearney, one of his old Aga¬ 
memnon’s, who, with the utmost coolness, put them 
under his arm ; “ bundling them up,” in the lively 
expression of Collingwood, “ with as much com- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


113 


1797.] 

posure as he would have made a faggot, though 
twenty-two sail of their line were still within gun¬ 



shot.” One of his sailors came up, and, with an 
Englishman’s feeling, took him by the hand, saying, 
he might not soon have such another place to do it 
in, and he was heartily glad to see him there. 
Twenty-four of the Captain’s men were killed, and 
fifty-six wounded ; a fourth part of the loss sustained 
by the whole squadron falling upon this ship. Nel¬ 
son received only a few bruises. 

The Spaniards had still eighteen or nineteen ships, 
which had suffered little or no injury: that part of 
the fleet which had been separated from the main 
body in the morning was now coming up, and Sir 
John Jervis made signal to bring to. His ships 
could not have formed without abandoning those 


i 








114 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


[1797. 

which they had captured, and running to leeward: 
the Captain was lying a perfect wreck on board her 
two prizes; and many of the other vessels were so 
shattered in their masts and rigging, as to be wholly 
unmanageable. The Spanish admiral meantime, ac¬ 
cording to his official account, being altogether un¬ 
decided in his own opinion respecting the state of 
the fleet, inquired of his captains whether it was 
proper to renew the action : nine of them answered 
explicitly, that it was not; others replied, that it 
was expedient to delay the business. The Pelayo 
and the Principe Conquistador were the only ships 
that' were for fighting. 

As soon as the action was discontinued, Nelson 
went on board the admiral’s ship. Sir John Jervis 
received him on the quarter-deck, took him in his 
arms, and said he could not sufficiently thank him. 
For this victory the commander-in-chief was re¬ 
warded with the title of Earl St. Vincent.* Nelson, 
who, before the action was known in England, had 
been advanced to the rank of rear-admiral, had 
the Older of the Bath given him. The sword of 

* In the official letter of Sir John Jervis, Nelson was not 
mentioned. It is said, that the admiral had seen an instance 
of the ill consequence of such selections, after Lord Howe’s vic¬ 
tory ; and, therefore, would not name any individual, thinking 
it pioper to speak to the public only in terms of general ap¬ 
probation. His private letter to the first lord of the admiralty 
was, with his consent, published, for the first time, in a Life of 
Nelson, by Mr. Harrison. Here it is said, that “ Commodore 
Nelson, who was in the rear, on the starboard tack, took the 
lead on the larboard, and contributed very much to the fortune 
of the day.” It is also said, that he boarded the two Spanish 
ships successively ; but the fact, that Nelson wore without 
orders, and thus planned as well as accomplished the victorv, 
is not explicitly stated. Perhaps it was thought proper to pass 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


115 


1797.] 

the Spanish rear-admiral, which Sir John Jervis 
insisted upon his keeping, he presented to the 
mayor and corporation of Norwich, saying, that 
he knew no place wdiere it could give him or his 
family more pleasure to have it kept, than in the 
capital city of the county where he was born. The 
freedom of that city was voted him on this occasion. 
But of all the numerous congratulations which he 
received, none could have affected him with deeper 
delight than that which came from his venerable 

O 


over this part of his conduct in silence, as a splendid fault ; 
hut such an example is not dangerous. The author of the work 
in which this letter was first made public protests against 
those over-zealous friends, “ who would make the action rather 
appear as Nelson’s battle, than that of the illustrious com¬ 
mander-in-chief, who derives from it so deservedly his title. 
No man,” he says, “ ever less needed, or less desired, to strip 
a single leaf from the honoured wreath of any other hero, with 
the vain hope of augmenting his own, than the immortal Nelson : 
no man ever more merited the whole of that which a generous 
nation unanimously presented to Sii J. Jervis, than the Karl 
St. Vincent.”—Certainly Earl St. Vincent well deserved the 
reward which he received; but it is not detracting from his 
merit to say, that Nelson is fully entitled to as much fame from 
this action as the commander-in-chief; not because the brunt 
of the action fell upon him ; not because he was engaged with 
all the four ships which were taken, and took two of them, it 
may almost be said, with his own hand; hut because the 
decisive movement, which enabled him to perform all this, and 
by which the action became a victory, was executed in neglect 
of orders, upon his own judgment, and at his peril. Earl St. 
Vincent deserved his earldom : hut it is not to the honour of 
those by wdiom titles were distributed in those days, that Nel¬ 
son never obtained the rank of earl for either of those victories 
which he lived to enjoy, though the one was the most complete 
and glorious in the annals of naval history, and the other the 
most important in its consequences of any which was achieved 
during the whole war. 



LIFE OF NELSON, 


116 



father. a I thank my God/' said this excellent 
man, “ with all the power of a grateful soul, for 
the mercies he has most graciously bestowed on 
me in preserving you. Not only my few acquaint¬ 
ance here, but the people in general, met me at 
every corner with such handsome words, that I was 
obliged to retire from the public eye. The height 
of glory to which your professional judgment, 
united with a proper degree of bravery, guarded by 
Providence, has raised you, few sons, my dear child, 
attain to, and fewer fathers live to see. Tears of 
joy have involuntarily trickled down my furrowed 
cheeks : Who could stand the force of such general 
congratulation ? The name and services of Nelson 
have sounded through this citv of Bath—from the 

o * 

common ballad-singer to the public theatre." The 
good old man concluded by telling him, that the 
field of glory, in which he had so long been con¬ 
spicuous, was still open, and by giving him his 
blessing. 

Sir Horatio, wdio had now T hoisted his flag as 
rear-admiral of the blue, was sent to bring away 
the troops from Porto Ferrajo; having performed 
this, he shifted his flag to the Theseus. That ship 
had taken part in the mutiny in England, and 
being just arrived from home, some danger was 
apprehended from the temper of the men. This 
was one reason why Nelson was removed to her. 
He had not been on board many weeks before a 
paper, signed in the name of all the ship’s com¬ 
pany, was dropped on the quarter-deck, containing 
these words : 4< Success attend Admiral Nelson ! 
God bless Capt. Miller! We thank them for the 
officers they have placed over us. We are happy 






LIFE OF NELSON. 


1797.] 


117 


and comfortable, and will shed every drop of 
blood in our veins to support them ; and the name 
of the Theseus shall be immortalised as high as 
her captain’s.” Wherever Nelson commanded, 
the men soon became attached to him;—in ten 
days’ time he would have restored the most muti¬ 
nous ship in the navy to order. Whenever an 
officer fails to win the affections of those who are 
under his command, he may be assured that the fault 
is chiefly in himself. 

While Sir Horatio was in the Theseus, he was 
employed in the command of the inner squadron 
at the blockade of Cadiz. During this service, the 
most perilous action occurred in which he was ever 



engaged. Making a night attack upon the Spanish 
gun-boats, his barge was attacked by an armed 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


118 


[1797. 


launch, under their commander, D. Miguel Tre- 
goyen, carrying twenty-six men. Nelson had with 
him only his ten bargemen, Capt. Freemantle, and 
his coxswain, John Sykes, an old and faithful fol¬ 
lower, who twice saved the life of his admiral, by 
parrying the blows that were aimed at him, and, 
at last, actually interposed his own head to receive 
the blow of a Spanish sabre, which he could not 
by any other means avert ;—thus dearly was Nel¬ 
son beloved. This was a desperate service—hand 
to hand with swords; and Nelson always consi¬ 
dered that his personal courage w T as more conspi¬ 
cuous on this occasion than on any other during 
his whole life. Notwithstanding the great dispro¬ 
portion of numbers, eighteen of the enemy were 
killed, all the rest wounded, and their launch 
taken. Nelson would have asked for a lieutenancy 
for Sykes, if he had served long enough ; his man¬ 
ner and conduct, he observed, were so entirely 
above his situation, that Nature certainly intended 
him for a gentleman: but though he recovered 
from the dangerous wound which he received in 
this act of heroic attachment, he did not live to 
profit by the gratitude and friendship of his com¬ 
mander. 

Twelve days after this rencontre, Nelson sailed 
at the head of an expedition against Teneriffe. A 
report had prevailed a few months before, that the 
viceroy of Mexico, with the treasure ships, had put 
into that island. This had led Nelson to meditate 
the plan of an attack upon it, which he communi¬ 
cated to Earl St. Vincent. He was perfectly aware 
of the difficulties of the attempt. “ I do not,” 
said he, “reckon myself equal to Blake: but, if I 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1797.] 


119 


recollect right, he was more obliged to the wind 
coming off the land, than to any exertions of his 
own. The approach by sea to the anchoring-place 
is under very high land, passing three valleys; 
therefore the wind is either in from the sea, or 
squally with calms from the mountainsand he 
perceived, that if the Spanish ships were won, the 
object would still be frustrated, if the wind did not 
come off shore. The land force, he thought, would 
render success certain ; and there were the troops 
from Elba, with all necessary stores and artillery, 
already embarked. “ But here,” said he, “ soldiers 
must be consulted; and I know, from experience, 
they have not the same boldness in undertaking 
a political measure that we have: we look to the 
benefit of our country, and risk our own fame 
every day to serve her;—a soldier obeys his orders, 
and no more.” Nelson’s experience at Corsica 
justified him in this harsh opinion:—he did not 
live to see the glorious days of the British army 
under Wellington. The army from Elba, consist¬ 
ing of three thousand seven hundred men, would 
do the business, he said, in three days, probably in 
much less time ; and he would undertake, with a 
very small squadron, to perform the naval part ; 
for, though the shore was not easy of access, the 
transports might run in and land the troops in one 
day. 

The report concerning the viceroy was unfounded; 
but a homeward-bound Manilla ship put into Santa 
Cruz at this time, and the expedition was deter¬ 
mined upon. It was not fitted out upon the scale 
which Nelson had proposed. Four ships of the 
line, three frigates, and the Fox cutter, formed the 


120 LIFE OF NELSON. Q797- 

squadron; and he was allowed to choose such 
ships and officers as he thought proper. No troops 
were embarked; the seamen and marines of the 
squadron being thought sufficient. His orders 
were, to make a vigorous attack ; but on no account 
to land in person, unless his presence should be 
absolutely necessary. The plan was, that the boats 
should land in the night, between the fort on the 
N. E. side of Santa Cruz bay and the town, 
make themselves masters of that fort, and then send 
a summons to the governor. By midnight, the 
three frigates, having the force on board which 
was intended for this debarkation, approached 
within three miles of the place ; but, owing to a 
strong gale of wind in the offing, and a strong cur¬ 
rent against them in-shore, they were not able to 
get within a mile of the landing-place before day¬ 
break ; and then they were seen, and their inten¬ 
tion discovered. Trowbridge and Bowen, with 
Capt. Oldfield, of the marines, went upon this to 
consult with the admiral what was to be done; 
and it was resolved that they should attempt to 
get possession of the heights above the fort. The 
frigates accordingly landed their men; and Nelson 
stood in with the line-of-battle ships, meaning to 
batter the fort for the purpose of distracting the 
attention of the garrison. A calm and contrary 
current hindered him from getting within a league 
of the shore ; and the heights were by this time so 
secured, and manned with such a force, as to be 
judged impracticable. Thus foiled in his plans by 
circumstances of wind and tide, he still considered 
it a point of honour that some attempt should be 
made. This was on the twenty-second of July: 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1797.] 


121 


lie re-embarked his men that night, got the ships, 
on the twenty-fourth, to anchor about two miles 
north of the town, and made show as if he intended 
to attack the heights. At six in the evening, signal 
was made for the boats to prepare to proceed on the 
service as previously ordered. 

When this was done, Nelson addressed a letter 
to the commander-in-chief—the last which was ever 
written with his right hand. 44 I shall not,” said 
lie, 44 enter on the subject, why we are not in pos¬ 
session of Santa Cruz. Your partiality will give 
credit, that all has hitherto been done which was 
• possible ; but without effect. This night I, humble 
as I am, command the whole destined to land under 
the batteries of the town ; and, to-morrow, my 
head will probably be crowned either with laurel 
or cypress. 1 have only to recommend Josiah Nis- 
bet to you and my country. The Duke of Cla¬ 
rence, should I fall, will, I am confident, take a 
lively interest for my son-in-law, on his name being 
mentioned.” Perfectly aware how desperate a 
service this was likely to prove, before he left the 
Theseus he called Lieutenant Nisbet, who had the 
watch on deck, into the cabin, that he might assist 
in arranging and burning his mothers letters. 
Perceiving that the young man was armed, he ear¬ 
nestly begged him to remain behind. 44 Should we 
both fall, Josiah,” said he, 44 what would become 
of vour poor mother ! The care of the Theseus 
hills to you : stay, therefore, and take charge of 
her.” Nisbet replied : 44 Sir, the ship must take 
care of herself: I will go with you to-night, if I 
never go again.” 

He met his captains at supper on board the Sea- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


122 


[1797. 


horse, Captain Freeman tie, whose wife, whom he 
had lately married in the Mediterranean, presided 
at table. At eleven o’clock, the boats, containing 
between six and seven hundred men, with one 
hundred and eighty on board the Fox cutter, and 
from seventy to eighty in a boat which had been 
taken the day before, proceeded in six divisions 
toward the town, conducted by all the captains of 
the squadron, except Freemantle and Bowen, who 
attended with Nelson to regulate and lead the way 
to the attack. They were to land on the mole, 
and thence hasten, as fast as possible, into the 
great square ; then form, and proceed, as should 
be found expedient. They were not discovered till 
about half-past one o’clock, when, being within 
half gun-shot of the landing-place, Nelson directed 
the boats to cast off from each other, give a huzza, 
arid push for the shore. But the Spaniards were 
exceedingly well prepared : the alarm-bells answer¬ 
ed the huzza, and a fire of thirty or forty pieces of 
cannon, with musketry from one end of the town 
to the other, opened upon the invaders. Nothing, 
however, could check the intrepidity with which 
they advanced. The night w T as exceedingly dark : 
most of the boats missed the mole, and went on 
shore through a raging surf, which stove all to the 
left of it. The Admiral, Freemantle, Thompson, 
Bowen, and four or five other boats, found the mole : 
they stormed it instantly, and carried it, though it 
was defended, as they imagined, by four or five 
hundred men. Its guns, which were six-and-twenty 
pounders, were spiked; but such a heavy fire of 
musketry and grape was kept up from the citadel 
and the houses at the head of the mole, that the 


LIFE OF NELSON 


1797.] LIFE OF NELSON 123 

assailants could not advance, and nearly all of them 
were killed or wounded. 

In the act of stepping out of the boat, Nelson 
received a shot through the right elbow, and fell; 
but, as he fell, he caught the sword, which he had 
just drawn, in his left hand, determined never to 
part with it while he lived, for it had belonged to 
his uncle, Captain Suckling, and he valued it like a 
relic. Nisbet, who was close to him, placed him 
at the bottom of the boat, and laid his hat over the 
shattered arm, lest the sight of the blood, which 
gushed out in great abundance, should increase his 
faintness. He then examined the wound, and tak¬ 
ing some silk handkerchiefs from his neck, bound 
them round tight above the lacerated vessels. Had 
it not been for this presence of mind in his son-in- 
law, Nelson must have perished. One of his barge¬ 
men, by name Lovel, tore his shirt into shreds, and 
made a sling with them for the broken limb. They 
then collected five other seamen, by whose assist¬ 
ance they succeeded, at length, in getting the boat 
afloat; for it had grounded with the falling tide. 
Nisbet took one of the oars, and ordered the 
steersman to go close under the guns of the bat¬ 
tery, that they might be safe from its tremendous 
fire. Hearing his voice, Nelson roused himself, and 
desired to be lifted up in the boat, that he might 
look about him. Nisbet raised him up ; but no¬ 
thing could be seen, except the firing of the guns 
on shore, and what could be discerned by their 
flashes upon the stormy sea. In a few minutes, a 
general shriek was heard from the crew of the Fox, 
which had received a shot under water, and went 
down. Ninety-seven men were lost in her; eighty- 


124 LIFE OF NELSON. [l7Q7. 

three were saved, many by Nelson himself, whose 
exertions on this occasion greatly increased the 
pain and danger of his wound. The first ship 
which the boat could reach happened to be the Sea¬ 
horse ; but nothing could induce him to go on 
board, though he was assured that if they attempted 
to row to another ship, it might be at the risk of 
his life. “ I had rather suffer death,” he replied, 
“ than alarm Mrs. Freemantle, by letting her see 
me in this state, when I can give her no tidings 
whatever of her husband.” They pushed on for the 
Theseus. When they came alongside, he peremp¬ 
torily refused all assistance in getting on board, so 
impatient was he that the boat should return, in 
hopes that it might save a few more from the Fox. 
He desired to have only a single rope thrown over 
the side, which he twisted round his left hand, say¬ 
ing, “ Let me alone : I have yet my legs left and 
one arm. Tell the surgeon to make haste and get 
his instruments. I know I must lose my right arm, 
so the sooner it is off the better'".” The spirit which 
he displayed in jumping up the ship’s side astonished 
everybody. 

Freemantle had been severely wounded in the 
right arm, soon after the admiral. He was fortu- 


* During the peace of Amiens, when Nelson was passing 
through Salisbury, and received there with those acclamations 
which followed him everywhere, he recognised among the crowd 
a man who had assisted at the amputation, and attenued him 
afterwards. lie beckoned him up the stairs of the Council-house, 
shook hands with him, and made him a present, in remembrance 
of bis services at that time. The man took from his bosom a 
piece of lace, which he had torn from the sleeve of the amputated 
limb, saying, he had preserved, and would preserve it to the last 
moment, in memory of his old commander. 








LIFE OF NELSON. 


1797.] 


123 


nate enough to find a boat on the beach, and got 
instantly to his ship. Thompson was wounded: 
Bowen* killed, to the great regret of Nelson ; as 
was also one of his own officers, Lieutenant Wea- 
therhead, who had followed him from the Agamem¬ 
non, and whom he greatly and deservedly esteemed. 
Trowbridge, meantime, fortunately for his party, 
missed the mole in the darkness, but pushed on 
shore under the batteries, close to the south end of 
the citadel. Capt. Waller of the Emerald, and 
two or three other boats, landed at the same time. 
The surf was so high that many others put back. 
The boats were instantly filled with water, and stove 
against the rocks ; and most of the ammunition in 
the men’s pouches was wetted. Having collected 
a few men, they pushed on to the great square, 
hoping there to find the Admiral and the rest of the 
force. The ladders were all lost, so that they 
could make no immediate attempt on the citadel; 
but they sent a sergeant with two of the town’s- 
people to summon it: this messenger never re¬ 
turned ; and Trowbridge having waited about an 
hour, in painful expectation of his friends, marched 
to join Captains Hood and Miller, who had effected 
their landing to the south-west. They then endea- 


* Captain Bowen’s gold seals, and chain, and sword, wero 
preserved in the town-house at Teneriffe ; his watch and other 
valuables had been made W>ty of by the populace. In 1810, 
the magistrates of the islanu sent these memorials of the dead 
to his brother, commissioner Bowen, saying that they conceived 
it would be gratifying to his feelings to receive them, and that as 
the two nations were now united in a cause which did equal 
honour to both, they did not wish to retain a trophy which could 
remind them that they had ever been opposed to each other - .— 
Naval Chronicle, Vol- xxiv. p. 393. 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


12G 


[1797. 


voured to procure some intelligence of the Admiral 
and the rest of the officers, but without success. 
By daybreak they had gathered together about 
eighty marines, eighty pikemen, and one hundred 
and eighty small-arm seamen ; all the survivors of 
those who had made good their landing. They 
obtained some ammunition from the prisoners whom 
they had taken, and marched on, to try what could 
be done at the citadel without ladders. They found 
all the streets commanded by field-pieces, and 
several thousand Spaniards, with about a hundred 
French, under arms, approaching by every avenue. 
Finding himself without provisions, the powder wet, 
and no possibility of obtaining either stores or rein¬ 
forcements from the ships, the boats being lost, 
Trowbridge, with great presence of mind, sent Capt. 
Samuel Hood with a flag of truce to the governor, 
to say he was prepared to burn the town, and 
would instantly set fire to it, if the Spaniards 
approached one inch nearer: — This, however, if 
he were compelled to do it, he should do with 
regret, for he had no wish to injure the inhabitants : 
and he was ready to treat upon these terms,—that 
the British troops should re-embark, with all their 
arms, of every kind, and take their own boats, if 
they were saved, or be provided with such others 
as might be wanting : they, on their part, engaging 
that the squadron should not molest the town, nor 
any of the Canary Islands : all prisoners on both 
sides to be given up. When these terms were pro¬ 
posed, the governor made answer, that the English 
ought to surrender as prisoners of war : but Capt. 
Hood replied, he was instructed to say, that if the 
terms were not accepted in five minutes, Capt. 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1797.] LIFE OF NELSON. 127 

Trowbridge would set the town on fire, and attack 
the Spaniards at the point of the bayonet. Satis¬ 
fied with his success, which was indeed sufficiently 
complete, and respecting, like a brave and honour¬ 
able man, the gallantry of his enemy, the Spaniard 
acceded to the proposal, found boats to re-embark 
them, their own having all been dashed to pieces 
in landing, and before they parted gave every man 
a loaf and a pint of wine. “ And here,” says 
Nelson in his journal, “ it is right we should notice 
the noble and generous conduct of Don Juan An¬ 
tonio Gutierrez, the Spanish governor. The moment 
the terms were agreed to, he directed our wounded 
men to be received into the hospitals, and all our 
people to be supplied with the best provisions that 
could be procured ; and made it known, that the 
ships were at liberty to send on shore, and purchase 
whatever refreshments they were in want of during 
the time they might be oft* the island.” A youth, 
by name Don Bernardo Collagon, stripped himself 
of his shirt, to make bandages for one of those 
Englishmen, against whom, not an hour before, he 
had been engaged in battle. Nelson wrote to thank 
the governor for the humanity which he had dis¬ 
played. Presents were interchanged between them. 
Sir Horatio offered to take charge of his despatches 
for the Spanish government ; and thus actually be¬ 
came the first messenger to Spain of his own defeat. 

The total loss of the English, in killed, wounded, 
and drowned, amounted to two hundred and fifty. 
Nelson made no mention of his own wound in his 
official despatches : but in a private letter to Lord St. 
Vincent.—the first which he wrote with his left hand, 
—he shows himself to have been deeply affected by 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


128 


f 1797. 


the failure of this enterprise. “ I am become,” he 
said, “a burthen to my friends, and useless to my 
country : but by my last letter you will perceive my 
anxiety for the promotion of my son-in-law, Josiah 
Nisbet. When I leave your command, I become 
dead to the world:— 4 1 go hence, and am no more 
seen.’ If from poor Bowen’s loss you think it 
proper to oblige me, I rest confident you will do it. 
The boy is under obligations to me; but he repaid 
me, by bringing me from the mole of Santa Cruz. I 
hope you will be able to give me a frigate, to con¬ 
vey the remains of my carcass to England.”—“ A 
left-handed admiral,” he said in a subsequent letter, 
“ will never again be considered as useful: there¬ 
fore the sooner I get to a very humble cottage the 
better, and make room for a sounder man to serve 
the state.” His first letter to Lady Nelson was 
written under the same opinion, but in a more cheer¬ 
ful strain. “ It was the chance of war,” said he, 
“ and I have great reason to be thankful: and I 
know it will add much to your pleasure to find that 
Josiah, under God’s providence, was principally in¬ 
strumental in saving my life. I shall not be sur¬ 
prised if I am neglected and forgotten : probably I 
shall no longer be considered as useful: however, I 
shall feel rich if I continue to enjoy your affection. I 
beg neither you nor my father will think much of 
this mishap :—my mind has long been made up to 
such an event.” 

His son-in-law, according to his wish, was im¬ 
mediately promoted; and honours enough to heal 
his wounded spirit awaited him in England. Let¬ 
ters were addressed to him by the first lord of the 
admiralty, and by his steady friend, the Duke of 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1797 .] 


129 


Clarence, to congratulate him on his return, covered 
as he was with glory. He assured the duke, in 
his reply, that not a scrap of that ardour, with 
which he had hitherto served his king, had been 
shot away. The freedom of the cities of Bristol 
and London were transmitted to him : he was in¬ 
vested with the order of the Bath ; and received a 
pension of £1000 a year. The memorial which, 
as a matter of form, he was called upon to present 
on this occasion, exhibited an extraordinary cata¬ 
logue of services performed during the war. It 
stated, that he had been in four actions with the 
fleets of the enemy, and in three actions with boats 
employed in cutting out of harbour, in destroying 
vessels, and in taking three towns: he had served 
on shore with the army four months, and com¬ 
manded the batteries at the sieges of Bastia and 
Calvi: he had assisted at the capture of seven sail 
of the line, six frigates, four corvettes, and eleven 
privateers : taken and destroyed near fifty, sail of 
merchant vessels: and actually been engaged against 
the enemy upwards of a hundred and twenty times ; 
in which service he had lost his right eye and right 
arm, and been severely wounded and bruised in 
his body. 

His sufferings from the lost limb w^ere long and 
painful. A nerve had been taken up in one of 
the ligatures at the time of the operation ; and the 
ligature, according to the practice of the French 
surgeons, was of silk, instead of waxed thread ; this 
produced a constant irritation and discharge ; and 
the ends of the ligature being pulled every day, in 
hopes of bringing it away, occasioned fresh agony. 
He had scarcely any intermission of pain, day or 


. 130 LIFE OF NELSON. • 

night, for three months after his return to England. 
Lady Nelson, at his earnest request, attended the 
dressing of his arm, till she had acquired sufficient 
resolution and skill to dress it herself. One night, 
during this state of suffering, after a day of con¬ 
stant pain, Nelson retired early to bed, in hope of 
enjoying some respite by means of laudanum. He 
was at that time lodging in Bond Street ; and 
the family were soon disturbed by a mob knock¬ 
ing loudly and violently at the door. The news 
of Duncan’s victory had been made public, and the 
house was not illuminated. But when the mob 
were told that Admiral Nelson lay there in bed, 
badly wounded, the foremost of them made answer ; 
“You shall hear no more from us to-night:” and 
in fact, the feeling of respect and sympathy was 
communicated from one to another with such effect, 
that, under the confusion of such a night, the house 
was not molested again. 

About the end of November, after a night of 
sound sleep, he found the arm nearly free from 
pain : the surgeon was immediately sent for to 
examine it; and the ligature came away witli the 
slightest touch. From that time it began to heal. 
As soon as he thought his health established, he 
sent the following form of thanksgiving to the 
minister of St. George’s, Hanover Square :—“ An 
officer desires to return thanks to Almighty God 
for his perfect recovery from a severe wound, and 
also for the many mercies bestowed on him.” 

Not having been in England till now, since he 
lost his eye, he went to receive a year’s pay, as 
smart money ; but could not obtain payment, be¬ 
cause he had neglected to bring a certificate from 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1797-] 


1.31 


a surgeon, that the sight was actually destroyed. 
A little irritated that this form should be insisted 
upon, because, though the fact was not apparent, 
he thought it was sufficiently notorious, he procured 
a certificate, at the same time, for the loss of his 
arm ; saying, they might just as well doubt one as 
the other. This put him in good humour witli 
himself, and with the clerk who had offended him. 
On his return to the office, the clerk finding it was 

' O 

only the annual pay of a captain, observed, he 
thought it had been more. “ Oh !” replied Nelson, 
“ this is only for an eye. In a few days I shall come 
for an arm ; and in a little time longer, God knows, 
most probably for a leg.” Accordingly he soon 
afterwards went; and with perfect good humour 
exhibited the certificate of the loss of his arm. 


CHAPTER V. 

Nelson rejoins Earl St. Vincent in the Vanguard—Sails in pursuit 
of the French to Egypt—Returns to Sicily, and sails again to 
Egypt—Battle of the Nile. 

Early in the year 1798, SirIToratio Nelson hoisted 
his flag in the Vanguard, and w 7 as ordered to rejoin 
Earl St. Vincent. Upon his departure, his father 
addressed him with that affectionate solemnity by 
which all his letters w r ere distinguished. “ I trust 
in the Lord,” said he, “ that he will prosper your 
going out and your coming in. I earnestly desired 
once more to see you, and that wish has been heard. 
If I should presume to say, I hope to see you again, 

k 2 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


132 


[1793. 


the question would be readily asked, How old art 
thou ? Vale! vale ! Domine , vale !” It is said, 
that a gloomy foreboding hung on the spirits of 
Lady Nelson at their parting. This could have 
arisen only from the dread of losing him by the 
chance of war. Any apprehension of losing his 
affections could hardly have existed; for all his 
correspondence to this time shows that he thought 
himself happy in his marriage; and his private 
character had hitherto been as spotless as his pub¬ 
lic conduct. One of the last things he said to her 
was, that his own ambition was satisfied, but that 
he went to raise her to that rank in which he had 
lonof wished to see her. 

Immediately on his rejoining the fleet, he was 
despatched to the Mediterranean, with a small 
squadron, in order to ascertain, if possible, the 
object of the great expedition which at that time 
w T as fitting out, under Buonaparte, at Toulon. The 
defeat of this armament, wdiatever might be its 
destination, was deemed by the British govern¬ 
ment an object paramount to every other; and 
Earl St. Vincent was directed, if he thought it 
necessary, to take his wdiole force into the Mediter¬ 
ranean, to relinquish, for that purpose, the block¬ 
ade of the Spanish fleet, as a thing of inferior 
moment: but, if he should deem a detachment suf¬ 
ficient, “ I think it almost unnecessary,” said the 
first lord of the admiralty, in his secret instructions, 
“ to suggest to you the propriety of putting it under 
Sir Horatio Nelson.” It is to the honour of Earl St. 
\ r incent, that lie had already made the same choice. 
This appointment to a service in which so much 
onour might be acquired gave great offence to 


1798.] LIFE OF NELSON. 133 

the senior admirals of the fleet. Sir William Par¬ 
ker, who was a very excellent officer, and as gallant 
a man as any in the navy, and Sir John Orde, 
who on all occasions of service had acquitted him¬ 
self with great honour, each wrote to Lord Spencer, 
complaining that so marked a preference should 
have been given to a junior of the same fleet. 
This resentment is what most men in a like case 
would feel; and if the preference thus given to 
Nelson had not originated in a clear perception 
that (as his friend Collingwood said of him a little 
while before) his spirit was equal to all undertakings, 
and his resources fitted to all occasions, an injus¬ 
tice would have been done to them by his appoint¬ 
ment. But if the services were conducted with 
undeviating respect to seniority, the naval and mili¬ 
tary character would soon be brought down to the 
dead level of mediocrity. 

The armament at Toulon consisted of thirteen 
ships of the line, seven forty-gun frigates, with 
twenty-four smaller vessels of war, and nearly two 
hundred transports. Mr. Udney, our consul at 
Leghorn, was the first person who procured certain 
intelligence of the enemy’s design against Malta ; 
and, from his own sagacity, foresaw that Egypt 
must be their after object. Nelson sailed from 
Gibraltar on the 9th of May, with the Vanguard, 
Orion, and Alexander, seventy-fours ; the Caroline, 
Flora, Emerald, and Terpsichore frigates; and the 
Bonne Citoyenne sloop of war; to watch this for¬ 
midable armament. On the 19th, when they w T ere 
in the gulf of Lyons, a gale came on from the N. 
W. It moderated so much on the 20th, as to en¬ 
able them to get their top-gallant-masts and yards 


134 LIFE OF NELSON. [1798 

aloft. After dark, it again began to blow strong : 
but the ships had been prepared for a gale, and 
therefore Nelson’s mind was easy. Shortly after 
midnight, however, his main-top-mast went over 
the side, and the mizen-top-mast soon afterward. 
The night was so tempestuous, that it was impos¬ 
sible for any signal either to be seen or heard ; and 
Nelson determined, as soon as it should be day¬ 
break, to wear, and scud before the gale : but at 
half-past three the fore-mast went in three pieces, 
and the bowsprit was found to be sprung in three 
places. When day broke they succeeded in wear¬ 
ing the ship with a remnant of the spritsail; this 
was hardly to have been expected : the Yanguard 
was at that time twenty-five leagues south of the 
islands of Hieres, with her head lying to the N. E. 
and if she had not wore, the ship must have drifted 
to Corsica. Capt. Ball, in the Alexander, took 
her in tow, to carry her into the Sardinian harbour 
of St. Pietro. Nelson, apprehensive that this at¬ 
tempt might endanger both vessels, ordered him to 
cast off: but that excellent officer, with a spirit 
like his commander’s, replied, he was confident he 
could save the Yanguard, and by God’s help he 
would do it. There had been a previous coolness 
between these great men; but from this time 
Nelson became fully sensible of the extraordinary 
talents of Capt. Ball, and a sincere friendship sub¬ 
sisted between them during the remainder of their 
lives. “ I ought not,” said the Admiral, writing 
to his wife,—“ I ought not to call what has hap¬ 
pened to the Yanguard by the cold name of acci ¬ 
dent : I believe firmly it was the Almighty’s good¬ 
ness, to check my consummate vanity. I hope it 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1798] 


135 


has made me a better officer, as I feel confident it 
has made me a better man. Figure to yourself, on 
Sunday evening, at sunset, a vain man walking in 
his cabin, with a squadron around him, who looked 
up to their chief to lead them to glory, and in 
whom their chief placed the firmest reliance that 
the proudest ships of equal numbers belonging to 
France would have lowered their flags ;—figure to 
yourself, on Monday morning, when the sun rose, 
this proud man, his ship dismasted, his fleet dis¬ 
persed, and himself in such distress, that the mean¬ 
est frigate out of France would have been an 
unwelcome guest.” Nelson had, indeed, more reason 
to refuse the cold name of accident to this tempest, 
than he was then aware of; for on that very day 
the French fleet sailed from Toulon, and must have 
passed within a few leagues of his little squadron, 
which was thus preserved by the thick weather that 
came on. 

The British government at this time, with a 
becoming spirit, gave orders, that any port in the 
Mediterranean should be considered as hostile, 
where the governor, or chief magistrate, should 
refuse to let our ships of war procure supplies of 
provisions, or of any article which they might 
require. 

In these orders the ports of Sardinia were excepted. 
The continental possessions of the King of Sardinia 
were at this time completely at the mercy of the 
French, and that prince was now discovering, when 
too late, that the terms to which he had consented, 
for the purpose of escaping immediate danger, ne¬ 
cessarily involved the loss of the dominions which 
they were intended to preserve. The citadel of 


LIFE OF KELSON. 


13G 


[1798. 


Turin was now occupied by French troops; and 
his wretched court feared to afford the common 
rights of humanity to British ships, lest it should 
give the French occasion to seize on the remainder 
of his dominions:—a measure for which it was 
certain they would soon make a pretext, if they 
did not find one. Nelson was informed, that he 
could not be permitted to enter the port of St. 
Pietro. Regardless of this interdict, which, under 
his circumstances, it would have been an act of 
suicidal folly to have regarded, he anchored in the 
harbour: and, by the exertions of Sir James Sau- 
marez, Capt. Ball, and Capt. Berry, the Vanguard 
was refitted in four days ; months would have been 
employed in refitting her in England. Nelson, 
with that proper sense of merit, wherever it w T as 
found, which proved at once the goodness and the 
greatness of his character, especially recommended 
to Earl St. Vincent the carpenter of the Alexander, 
under whose directions the ship had been repaired: 
stating, that he was an old and faithful servant of 
the crown, who had been nearly thirty years a 
warrant carpenter; and begging most earnestly 
that the commander-in-chief would recommend him 
to the particular notice of the board of admiralty. 
He did not leave the harbour without expressing 
his sense of the treatment which he had received 
there, in a letter to the Viceroy of Sardinia.— 
“ Sir,” it said, u having, by a gale of wind, sus¬ 
tained some trifling damages, I anchored a small 
part of his majesty’s fleet under my orders off this 
island, and was surprised to hear, by an officer sent 
by the governor, that admittance was to be refused 
to the flag of his Britannic majesty into this port. 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


1798.] 


137 


When I reflect, that my most gracious sovereign is 
the oldest, I believe, and certainly the most faithful 
ally which the King of Sardinia ever had, I could 
feel the sorrow which it must have been to his 
majesty to have given such an order ; and also for 
your excellency, who had to direct its execution. 
I cannot but look at the African shore, where the 
followers of Mahomet are performing the part of 
the good Samaritan, which I look for in vain at 
St. Peter’s, where it is said the Christian religion is 
professed.” 

The delay which was thus occasioned was useful 
to him in many respects: it enabled him to com 
plete his supply of water, and to receive a rein¬ 
forcement, which Earl St. Vincent, being himself 
reinforced from England, was enabled to send him. 
It consisted of the best ships of his fleet ; the Cul- 
loden, seventy-four, Capt. T. Trowbridge ; Goliath, 
seventy-four, Capt. T. Foley; Minotaur, seventy- 
four, Capt. T. Louis ; Defence, seventy-four, Capt. 
John Peyton ; Bellerophon, seventy-four, Capt. H. 
D. E. Darby; Majestic, seventy-four, Capt. G. B. 
Westcott; Zealous, seventy-four, Capt. S. Hood ; 
Swiftsure, seventy-four, Capt. B. Hallowed ; The¬ 
seus, seventy-four, Capt. R. W. Miller; Audacious, 
seventy-four, Capt. Davidge Gould. The Leander, 
fifty, Capt. T. B. Thompson, was afterward added. 
These ships were made ready for the service as soon 
as Earl St. Vincent received advice from England 
that he was to be reinforced. As soon as the rein¬ 
forcement was seen from the mast-head of the ad¬ 
miral’s ship, off Cadiz Bay, signal was immediately 
made to Capt. Trowbridge to put to sea; and he 
was out of sight before the ships from home cast 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


n* 


[1708. 


anchor in the British station. Trowbridge took with 
him no instructions to Nelson as to the course he 
was to steer, nor any certain account of the enemy’s 
destination : everything was left to his own judg¬ 
ment. Unfortunately, the frigates had been sepa¬ 
rated from him in the tempest, and had not been 
able to rejoin: they sought him unsuccessfully in 
the Bay of Naples, where they obtained no tidings 
of liis course ; and he sailed without them. 

The first news of the enemy’s armament was, 
that it had surprised Malta. Nelson formed a plan 
for attacking it while at anchor at Gozo; but on 
the 22nd of June intelligence reached him that the 
French had left that island on the 16th, the day 
after their arrival. It was clear that their destina¬ 
tion was eastward—he thought for Egypt—and for 
Egypt, therefore, he made all sail. Had the frigates 
been with him he could scarcely have failed to gain 
information of the enemy : for want of them, he 
only spoke three vessels on the way; two came 
from Alexandria, one from the Archipelago; and 
neither of them had seen anything of the French. 
He arrived off Alexandria on the 28th, and the 
enemy were not there, neither was there any account 
of them ; but the governor was endeavouring to 
put the city in a state of defence, having received 
advice from Leghorn, that the French expedition 
was intended against Egypt, after it had taken 
Malta. Nelson then shaped his course to the north¬ 
ward, for Caramania, and steered from thence along 
the southern side of Candia, carrying a press of 
sail, both night and day, with a contrary wind. It 
would have been his delight, he said, to have tried 
Buonaparte on a wind. It would have been the 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1798.] 


139 


delight of Europe, too, and the blessing of the world, 
if that fleet had been overtaken with its general on 
board. But of the myriads and millions of human 
beings who would have been preserved by that 
day’s victory there is not one to whom such essential 
benefit would have resulted as to Buonaparte him¬ 
self. It would have spared him his defeat at Acre 
—his only disgrace ; for to have been defeated by 
Nelson upon the seas would not have been dis¬ 
graceful : it would have spared him all his after 
enormities. Hitherto his career had been glorious ; 
the baneful principles of his heart had never yet 
passed his lips; history would have represented him 
as a soldier of fortune, who had faithfully served 
the cause in which he engaged : and whose career 
had been distinguished by a series of successes un¬ 
exampled in modern times. A romantic obscurity 
would have hung over the expedition to Egypt, 
and he would have escaped the perpetration of 
those crimes which have incarnadined his soul with 
a deeper dye than that of the purple for which he 
committed them ; those acts of perfidy, midnight 
murder, usurpation, and remorseless tyranny, which 
have consigned his name to universal execration, 
now and for ever. 

Conceiving that when an officer is not successful 
in his plans it is absolutely necessary that lie should 
explain the motives upon which they were founded, 
Nelson wrote at this time an account and vindica¬ 
tion of his conduct for having carried the fleet to 
Egypt. The objection which he anticipated was, 
that he ought not to have made so long a voyage, 
without more certain information. “ My answer,” 
said he, “ is ready—Who was I to get it from ? 


140 LIFE OF NELSON. [A7$S. 

The governments of Naples and Sicily either knew 
not, or chose to keep me in ignorance. Was I to 
wait patiently until I heard certain accounts ? If 
Egypt were their object, before I could hear of them 
they would have been in India. To do nothing 
was disgraceful; therefore I made use of my under¬ 
standing. I am before your lordships’ judgment; 
and if, under all circumstances, it is decided that I 
am wrong, I ought, for the sake of our country, to 
be superseded ; for at this moment, when I know 
the French are not in Alexandria, I hold the same 
opinion as off Cape Passaro,—that, under all circum¬ 
stances, I was right in steering for Alexandria; 
and by that opinion I must stand or fall.” Captain 
Ball, to whom he showed this paper, told him he 
should recommend a friend never to begin a defence 
of his conduct before he was accused of error: he 
might give the fullest reasons for what he had done, 
expressed in such terms as would evince that he had 
acted from the strongest conviction of being right : 
and of course he must expect that the public 
would view it in the same light. Captain Ball 
judged rightly of the public, whose first impulses, 
though from want of sufficient information they 
must frequently be erroneous, are generally founded 
upon just feelings. But the public are easily mis¬ 
led, and there are always persons ready to mislead 
them. Nelson had not yet attained that fame 
which compels envy to be silent; and when it was 
known in England that he had returned after an 
unsuccessful pursuit, it was said that he deserved 
impeachment: and Earl St. Vincent was severely 
censured for having sent so young an officer upon so 
important a service. 


LTFE OF NELSON. 


179S.] LTFE OF NELSON. 141 

Baffled in Ins pursuit, he returned to Sicily. The 
Neapolitan ministry had determined to give his 
squadron no assistance, being resolved to do nothing 
which could possibly endanger their peace with 
the French directory : by means, however, of Lady 
Hamilton’s influence at court, he procured secret 
orders to the Sicilian governors; and, under those 
orders, obtained everything which he wanted at 
Syracuse—a timely supply ; without which, he 
always said, he could not have recommenced his 
pursuit with any hope of success. “ It is an old 
saying,” said he, in his letter, “ that the devil’s 
children have the devil’s luck. I cannot to this 
moment learn, beyond vague conjecture, where the 
French fleet are gone to : and having gone a round 
of six hundred leagues at this season of the year, 
with an expedition incredible, here I am, as ignorant 
of the situation of the enemy as I was twenty-seven 
days ago. Every moment I have to regret the fri¬ 
gates having left me; had one-half of them been with 
me, I could not have wanted information. Should 
the French be so strongly secured in port that I 
cannot get at them, I shall immediately shift my 
flag into some other ship, and send the Vanguard to 
Naples to be refitted; for hardly any person but 
myself would have continued on service so long in 
such a wretched state.” Vexed, however, and dis¬ 
appointed as he was, Nelson, with the true spirit of 
a hero, was still full of hope. “ Thanks to your 
exertions,” said he, writing to Sir W. and Lady 
Hamilton, “ we have victualled and watered : and 
surely, watering at the fountain of Arethusa, we must 
have victory. We shall sail with the first breeze : 
and be assured I will return either crowned with 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


142 


[1793. 


laurel, or covered with cypress.” Earl St. Vincent 
lie assured, that if the French were above water he 
would find them out:—he still held his opinion that 
they were bound for Egypt : “ but,” said he to the 
first lord of the admiralty, “ be they bound to the 
Antipodes, your lordship may rely that I will not 
lose a moment in bringing them to action.” 

On the 25th of July he sailed from Syracuse for 
the Morea. Anxious beyond measure, and irritated 
that the enemy should so long have eluded him, 
the tediousness of the nights made him impatient ; 
and the officer of the watch was repeatedly called 
on to let him know the hour, and convince him, 
who measured time by his own eagerness, that it 
was not yet daybreak. The squadron made the 
gulf of Coron on the 28th. Trowbridge entered the 
port, and returned with intelligence that the French 
had been seen about four weeks before steering to 
the S. E. from Candia. Nelson then determined 
immediately to return to Alexandria: and the Bri¬ 
tish fleet accordingly, with every sail set, stood once 
more for the coast of Egypt. On the 1st of August, 
about ten in the morning, they came in sight of 
Alexandria; the port had been vacant and solitary 
wdien they saw it last ; it was now crowded with 
ships; and they perceived, with exultation, that the 
tri-coloured flag was flying upon the walls. At four 
in the afternoon, Capt. Hood, in the Zealous, made 
the signal for the enemy’s fleet. For many pre¬ 
ceding days Nelson had hardly taken cither sleep 
or food : he now ordered his dinner to be served, 
while preparations were making for battle ; and 
when his officers rose from table, and went to their 
separate stations, he said to them, “ Before this 


LIFE OF NEISON. 


143 


1798.] 

time to-morrow I shall have gained a peerage, or 
Westminster Abbey.” 

The French, steering direct for Candia, had 
made an angular passage for Alexandria; whereas 
Nelson, in pursuit of them, made straight for that 
place, and thus materially shortened the distance. 
The comparative smallness of his force made it 
necessary to sail in close order, and it covered a 
less space than it would have done if the frigates 
had been with him : the weather also was con¬ 
stantly hazy. These circumstances prevented the 
English from discovering the enemy on the way to 
Egypt, though it appeared, upon examining the 
journals of the French officers taken in the action, 
that the two fleets must actually have crossed on 
the night of the twenty-second of June. During 
the return to Syracuse, the chances of falling in with 
them were fewer. 

Why Buonaparte, having effected his landing, 
should not have suffered the fleet to return, has 
never yet been explained. Thus much is certain, 
that it was detained by his command; though, 
with his accustomed falsehood, he accused Admiral 
Brueys, after that officer’s death, of having lingered 
on the coast, contrary to orders. The French fleet 
arrived at Alexandria on the 1st of July; and 
Brueys, not being able to enter the port, which 
time and neglect had ruined, moored his ships in 
Aboukir Bay, in a strong and compact line of 
battle ; the headmost vessel, according to his own 
account, being as close as possible to a shoal on 
the N. W., and the rest of the fleet forming a 
kind of curve along the line of deep water, so as 
not to be turned by any means in the S. W. By 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


144 


1793 


Buonaparte’s desire he had offered a reward of 
10,000 livres to any pilot of the country who 
would carry the squadron in; but none could be 
found who would venture to take charge of a single 
vessel drawing more than twenty feet. He had 
therefore made the best of his situation, and chosen 
the strongest position which he could possibly 
take in an open road. The commissary of the 
fleet said, they were moored in such a manner as 
to bid defiance to a force more than double their 
own. This presumption could not then be thought 
unreasonable. Admiral Barrington, when moored 
in a similar manner off St. Lucia, in the year 1778, 
beat off the Comte d’Estaign in three several at- 
tacks, though his force was inferior by almost one 
third to that which assailed it. Here, the advan¬ 
tage in numbers, both in ships, guns and men, w r as 
in favour of the French. They had thirteen ships 
of the line and four frigates, carrying eleven hun¬ 
dred and ninety-six guns, and eleven thousand 
tw r o hundred and thirty men. The English had 
the same number of ships of the line, and one fifty- 
gun ship, carrying ten hundred and twelve guns, 
and eight thousand and sixty-eight men. The 
English ships were all seventy-fours : the French 
had three eighty-gun ships, and one three-decker of 
one hundred and twenty. 

During the whole pursuit, it had been Nelson's 
practice, whenever circumstances would permit, to 
have his captains on board the Vanguard, and 
explain to them his own ideas of the different and 
best modes of attack, and such plans as he pro¬ 
posed to execute on falling in with the enemy, 
wdiatever their situation might be. There is no 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


145 


1798.] 

possible position, it is said, which he did not take 
into calculation. His officers were thus fully ac¬ 
quainted with his principles of tactics ; and such 
was his confidence in their abilities, that the only 
thing determined upon, in case they should find the 
French at anchor, was for the ships to form as 
most convenient for their mutual support, and to 
anchor by the stern. “ First gain the victory," he 
said, “ and then make the best use of it you can.” 
The moment he perceived the position of the French, 
that intuitive genius with which Nelson was en¬ 
dowed displayed itself; and it instantly struck him, 
that where there was room for an enemy’s ship to 
swing, there was room for one of ours to anchor. 
The plan which he intended to pursue, therefore, 
was to keep entirely on the outer side of the 
French line, and station his ships, as far as he was 
able, one on the outer bow, and another on the 
outer quarter, of each of the enemy’s. This plan of 
doubling on the enemy’s ships was projected by 
Lord Hood, when he designed to attack the French 
fleet at their anchorage in Gourjean Road. Lord 
Hood found it impossible to make the attempt; 
but the thought was not lost upon Nelson, who 
acknowledged himself, on this occasion, indebted for 
it to his old and excellent commander. Capt. Berry, 
when he comprehended the scope of the design, 
exclaimed with transport, “ If we succeed, what 
will the world say ! ”— a There is no if in the case,” 
replied the admiral : “ that we shall succeed is cer¬ 
tain : who may live to tell the story is a very dif¬ 
ferent question.” 

As the squadron advanced, they were assailed by 
a shower of shot and shells from the batteries on the 

L 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


146 


[1798. 


island, and the enemy opened a steady fire from 
the starboard side of their whole line, within half 
gunshot distance, full into the bows of our van 
ships. It was received in silence : the men on 
board every ship were employed aloft in furling 
sails, and below in tending the braces, and making 
ready for anchoring. A miserable sight for the 
French ; who, with all their skill, and all their 
courage, and all their advantages of numbers and 
situation, were upon that element on which, when 
the hour of trial comes, a Frenchman has no hope. 
Admiral Brueys was a brave and able man; yet 
the indelible character of liis country broke out in 
one of his letters, wherein he delivered it as his 
private opinion, that the English had missed him, 
because,- not being superior in force, they did not 
think it prudent to try their strength with him.— 
The moment was now come in which he was to be 
undeceived. 

A French brig was instructed to decoy the En¬ 
glish, by manoeuvring so as to tempt them toward a 
shoal lying oft' the island of Bekier; but Nelson 
either knew the danger, or suspected some deceit ; 
and the lure was unsuccessful. Captain Foley led 
the way in the Goliath, outsailing the Zealous, 
which for some minutes disputed this post of honour 
with him. He had long conceived that if the ene- 
my w T ere moored in line of battle in with the land, 
the best plan of attack would be, to lead between 
them and the shore, because the French guns on 
that side were not likely to be manned, nor even 
ready for action. Intending, therefore, to fix him¬ 
self on the inner bow of the Guerrier , he kept as 
near the edge of the bank as the depth of water 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


i798.] 


147 


would admit; but his anchor hung, and having 
opened his fire, he drifted to the second ship, the 
Conquerant , before it was clear ; then anchored by 
the stern, inside of her, and in ten minutes shot 
away her mast. Hood, in the Zealous, perceiving 
this, took the station which the Goliath intended 
to have occupied, and totally disabled the Guerrier 
in twelve minutes. The third ship which doubled 
the enemy’s van was the Orion, Sir J. Saumarez ; 
she passed to windward of the Zealous, and opened 
her larboard guns as long as they bore on the Guer¬ 
rier ; then passing inside the Goliath, sunk a frigate 
which annoyed her, hauled round toward the French 
line, and anchoring inside, between the fifth and 
sixth ships from the Guerrier , took her station on 
the larboard bow of the Franklin , and the quarter 
of the Peuple Souverain , receiving and returning the 
fire of both. The sun was now nearly down. The 
Audacious, Captain Gould, pouring a heavy fire into 
the Guerrier and the Conquerant , fixed herself on 
the larboard bow of the latter; and when that 
ship struck, passed on to the Peuple Souverain. 
The Theseus, Captain Miller, followed, brought 
down the Guerrier s remaining main and mizen- 
masts, then anchored inside of the Spartiate , the 
third in the French line. 

While these advanced ships doubled the French 
line, the Vanguard was the first that anchored on 
the outer side of the enemy, within half pistol-shot 
of their third ship, the Spartiate. Nelson had six 
colours flying in different parts of his rigging, lest 
they should be shot away;—that they should be 
struck, no British admiral considers as a possibility. 
He veered half a cable, and instantly opened a 


14 3 LIFE OF NELSON. £l798. 

tremendous fire; under cover of which the other 
four ships of his division, the Minotaur, Bellero- 
phon, Defence, and Majestic, sailed on ahead of 
the admiral. In a few minutes, every man sta~ 
t'oned at the first six guns in the forepart of the 
Vanguard’s deck was killed or wounded : these guns 
were three times cleared. Captain Louis, in the 
Minotaur, anchored just ahead, and took off the fire 
of the Aquilon , the fourth in the enemy’s line. 
The Bellerophon, Captain Darby, passed ahead, and 
dropped her stern anchor on the starboard bow of the 
Orient , seventh in the line, Brueys’ own ship, of one 
hundred and twenty guns, whose difference of force 
was in proportion of more than seven to three, and 
whose weight of ball, from the lower deck alone, 
exceeded that from the whole broadside of the Belle¬ 
rophon. Captain Peyton, in the Defence, took his 
station ahead of the Minotaur, and engaged the 
Franklin , the sixth in the lino; by which judicious 
movement the British line remained unbroken. The 
Majestic, Captain Westcott, got entangled with the 
main rigging of one of the French ships astern of the 
Orient, and suffered dreadfully from that three- 
decker’s fire; but she swung clear, and closely 
engaging the Heureux , the ninth ship on the star¬ 
board bow, received also the fire of the Tonnant , 
which was the eighth in the line. The other four 
ships of the British squadron, having been detached 
previousJ;o the discovery of the French, were at a 
considerable distance when the action began. It 
commenced at half after six ; about seven, night 
closed, and there was no other light than that from 
the fire of the contending fleets. 

Trowbridge, in the Culloden, then foremost of 





1798.] LIFE OF NELSON. 149 

the remaining ships, was two leagues astern. He 
came on sounding, as the others had done; as he 
advanced, the increasing darkness increased the 
difficulty of the navigation; and suddenly, after 
having found eleven fathoms water, before the lead 
could be hove again he was fast aground; nor 
could all his own exertions, joined to those of the 
Leander and the Mutine brig, which came to his 
assistance, get him off in time to bear a part in the 
action. His ship, however, served as a beacon to 
the Alexander and Swiftsure, which would else, 
from the course which they were holding, have 
gone considerably farther on the reef, and must 
inevitably have been lost. These ships entered the 
bay, and took their stations, in the darkness, in a 
manner still spoken of with admiration by all who 
remember it. Captain Hallowed, in the Swiftsure, 
as he was bearing down, fell in with what seemed 
to be a strange sail; Nelson had directed his ships 
to hoist four lights horizontally at the mizen peak, 
as soon as it became dark; and this vessel had no 
such distinction. Hallowell, however, w T ith great 
judgment, ordered his men not to fire : if she was 
an enemy, he said, she was in too disabled a state 
to escape ; but, from her sails being loose, and the 
way in which her head was, it was probable she 
might be an English ship. It was the Bellerophon, 
overpowered by the huge Orient: her lights had 
gone overboard, nearly two hundred of her crew 
were killed or wounded, ad her masts and cables 
had been shot away; and she was drifting out of 
the line, toward the leeside of the bay. Her sta¬ 
tion, at this important time, was occupied by the 
Swiftsure, which opened a steady fire on the quar- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


150 


[1793 


ter of the Franklin and the bows of the French 
admiral. At the same instant Captain Ball, with 
the Alexander, passed under his stern, and anchored 
within side on his larboard quarter, raking him, 
and keeping up a severe fire of musketry upon 
his decks. The last ship which arrived to com¬ 
plete the destruction of the enemy was the Leander. 
Captain Thompson, finding that nothing could be 
done that night to get off the Culloden, advanced 
with the intention of anchoring athwart-hawse of 
the Orient. The Franklin was so near her ahead, 
that there was not room for him to pass clear 
of the two; he therefore took his station athwart- 
hawse of the latter, in such a position as to rake 
both. 

The two first ships of the French line had been 
dismasted within a quarter of an hour after the 
commencement of the action ; and the others had 
in that time suffered so severely, that victory w T as 
already certain. The third, fourth, and fifth, were 
taken possession of at half-past eight. Meantime 
Nelson received a severe wound on the head from 
a piece of langridge shot. Captain Berry caught 
him in his arms as he was falling. The great effusion 
of blood occasioned an apprehension that the wound 
was mortal: Nelson himself thought so : a large 
flap of the skin of the forehead, cut from the bone, 
had fallen over one eye: and the other being blind, 
he was in total darkness. When he was carried 
down, the surgeon,—in the midst of a scene 
scarcely to be conceived by those who have never 
seen a cockpit in time of action, and the heroism 
which is displayed amid its horrors,—with a na¬ 
tural and pardonable eagerness, quitted the poor 


LIFE OF KELSON. 


151 


1798.J 

fellow then under his hands, that he might instantly 
attend the admiral. “No!” said Nelson, “ I will 
take my turn with my brave fellows.” Nor would 
he suffer his own wound to be examined till everv 
man who had been previously wounded was pro¬ 
perly attended to. Fully believing that the wound 
was mortal, and that he was about to die, as he had 
ever desired, in battle and in victory, he called the 
chaplain, and desired him to deliver what he sup¬ 
posed to be his dying remembrance to Lady Nelson : 
he then sent for Capt. Louis on board from the 
Minotaur, that he might thank him personally for 
the great assistance which he had rendered to the 
Vanguard: and ever mindful of those who deserved 
to be his friends, appointed Capt. Hardy from the 
brig to the command of his own ship, Capt. Berry 
having to go home with the news of the victory 
When the surgeon came in due time to examine his 
wound (for it was in vain to entreat him to let it 
be examined sooner), the most anxious silence pre¬ 
vailed ; and the joy of the wounded men, and of 
the whole crew, when they heard that the hurt was 
merely superficial, gave Nelson deeper pleasure, 
than the unexpected assurance that his life was in 
no danger. The surgeon requested, and as far as 
he could, ordered him to remain quiet: but Nelson 
could not rest. He called for his secretary, Mr. 
Campbell, to write the despatches. Campbell had 
himself been wounded ; and was so affected at the 
blind and suffering state of the admiral, that he 
was unable to write. The chaplain was then sent 
for ; but, before he came, Nelson, with his charac- 
terestie eagerness, took the pen, and contrived to 
trace a few words, marking his devout sense of the 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


152 


[1793, 


success which had already been obtained. He was 
now left alone ; when suddenly a cry was heard on 
the deck, that the Orient was on fire. In the con¬ 
fusion ho found his way up, unassisted and unno¬ 
ticed ; and, to the astonishment of every one, ap¬ 
peared on the quarter-deck, where he immediately 
gave order that the boats should be sent to the 
relief of the enemy. 

It was soon after nine that the fire on board the 
Orient broke out. Brueys was dead : he had 
received three wounds, yet would not leave his 
post: a fourth cut him almost in two. lie de¬ 
sired not to be carried below, but to be left to die 
upon deck. The flames soon mastered his ship. 
Her sides had just been painted ; and the oil-jars, 
and paint bucket, were lying on the poop. By 
the prodigious light of this conflagration, the situ¬ 
ation of the two fleets could now be perceived, 
the colours of both being clearly distinguishable. 
About ten o’clock the ship blew up, with a shock 
which was felt to the very bottom of every vessel. 
Many of her officers and men jumped overboard, 
some clinging to the spars and pieces of wreck 
with which the sea was strewn, others swimming to 
escape from the destruction which they momently 
dreaded. Some were picked up by our boats; 
and some even in the heat and fury of the action 
were dragged into the lower ports of the nearest 
British ships by the British sailors. The greater 
part of her crew, however, stood the danger till 
the last, and continued to fire from the lower deck. 
This tremendous explosion was followed by a silence 
not less awful: the firing immediately ceased on 
both sides; and the first sound which broke the 


LIFE OF NELSON 


15.1 


1793.J 
















































LIFE OF NELSON. 


1793.] 


155 


silence, was the dash of her shattered masts and 
yards, falling into the water from the vast height to 
which they had been exploded. It is upon record, 
that a battle between two armies "was once broken 
off by an earthquake :—such an event would be 
felt like a miracle; but no incident in war, produced 
by human means, has ever equalled the sublimity 
of this co-instantaneous pause, and all its circum¬ 
stances. 

About seventy of the Orient's crew were saved 
by the English boats. Among the many hundreds 
who perished, were the Commodore, Casa-Bianca, 
and his son, a brave boy, only ten years old. They 
were seen floating: on a shattered mast when the 
ship blew up. She had money on board (the 
plunder of Malta) to the amount of £600,000 ster¬ 
ling. The masses of burning wreck, which were 
scattered by the explosion, excited for some mo¬ 
ments apprehensions in the English which they 
had never felt from any other danger. Two large 
pieces fell into the main and fore-tops of the Swift- 
sure without injuring any person. A port fire also 
fell into the main-royal of the Alexander ; the fire 
which it occasioned was speedily extinguished. 
Capt. Ball had provided, as far as human foresight 
could provide, against any such danger. All the 
shrouds and sails of his ship, not absolutely neces¬ 
sary for its immediate management, were tho¬ 
roughly wetted, and so rolled up, that they were 
as hard and as little inflammable as so many solid 
cylinders. 

The firing recommenced with the ships to lee¬ 
ward of the centre, and continued till about three. 
At daybreak, the Guillaume Tell and the Gene- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


156 LIFE OF NELSON. [1793. 

reux , the two rear ships of the enemy, were the 
only French ships of the line which had their co¬ 
lours flying: they cut their cables in the forenoon, 
not having been engaged, and stood out to sea, 
and two frigates with them. The Zealous pursued ; 
but as there was no other ship in a condition to 
support Capt. Hood, he was recalled. It was ge¬ 
nerally believed by the officers, that if Nelson had 
not been wounded, not one of these ships could have 
escaped ; the four certainly could not, if the Cul- 
loden had got into action : and if the frigates be • 
longing to the squadron had been present, not one 
of the enemy’s fleet would have left Aboukir Bay. 
These four vessels, however, were all that escaped; 
and the victory was the most complete and glorious 
in the annals of naval history. “ Victory,” said 
Nelson, “ is not a name strong enough for such a 
scene ; ” he called it a conquest. Of thirteen sail 
of the line nine were taken and two burned : of the 
four frigates, one was sunk, another, the Artemise, 
was burned in a villanous manner by her captain, 
M. Estandlet, who having fired a broadside at the 
Theseus, struck his colours, then set fire to the 
ship, and escaped with most of his crew to shore. 
The British loss, in killed and wounded, amountod 
to eight hundred and ninety-five. Westcott was 
the only captain who fell ; three thousand one hun¬ 
dred and five of the French, including the wounded, 
were sent on shore by cartel, and five thousand two 
hundred and twenty-five perished. 

As soon as the conquest was completed, Nelson 
sent orders through the fleet, to return thanks¬ 
giving in every ship for the victory with which 
Almighty God bad blessed his majesty’s arms. 





1798. J LIFE OF NELSON. 157 

The French at Rosetta, who with miserable fear 
beheld the engagement, w T ere at a loss to under¬ 
stand the stillness of the fleet during the perform¬ 
ance of this solemn duty; but it seemed to affect 
many of the prisoners, officers as well as men : and 
graceless and godless as the officers were, some of 
them remarked, that it was no wonder sucli order 
was preserved in the British navy, when the minds 
of our men could be impressed with such senti¬ 
ments after so great a victory, and at a moment of 
such confusion.—The French at Rosetta, seeing 
their four ships sail out of the bay unmolested, 
endeavoured to persuade themselves that they were 
in possession of the place of battle. But it was in 
vain thus to attempt, against their own secret and 
certain conviction, to deceive themselves: and even 
if they could have succeeded in this, the bonfires 
which the Arabs kindled along the whole coast, 
and over the country, for the three following nights, 
would soon have undeceived them. Thousands 
of Arabs and Egyptians lined the shore, and co¬ 
vered the house tops during the action, rejoicing 
in the destruction which had overtaken their in¬ 
vaders. Long after the battle, innumerable bodies 
were seen floating about the bay, in spite of all 
the exertions which were made to sink them, as 
'well from fear of pestilence, as from the loathing 
and horror which the sight occasioned. Great 
numbers were cast up upon the Isle of Bekier, 
(Nelson’s Island, as it has since been called,) and 
our sailors raised mounds of sand over them. Even 
after an interval of nearly three years Dr. Clarke 
saw them, and assisted in interring heaps of human 
bodies, which, having been thrown up by the sea. 


15S LIFE OF NELSON. £l793 

where there were no jackals to devour them, pre¬ 
sented a sight loathsome to humanity. The shore, 
for an extent of four leagues, was covered with 
wreck; and the Arabs found employment for many 
days in burning oil the beach the fragments which 
were cast up, for the sake of the iron*. Part of 
the Orient's main-mast was picked up by tlie 
Swiftsure. Capt. Ilallo well ordered his carpenter 
to make a coffin of it ; the iron, as well as the wood, 
was taken from the wreck of the same ship : it was 
finished as well and handsomely as the workman’s 
skill and materials would permit; and Hallowell 
then sent it to the admiral with the following letter. 
—“ Sir, I have taken the liberty of presenting you 
a coffin made from the main-mast of VOrient, that 
when you have finished your military career in this 
world, you may be buried in one of your trophies. 
But that that period may be far distant is the ear¬ 
nest wish of your sincere friend, Benjamin Hallo- 
well.”—An offering so strange, and yet so suited 
to the occasion, was received by Nelson in the 
spirit with which it was sent. As if he felt it good 
for him, now that he was at the summit of his 
wishes, to have death before his eyes, he ordered 
the coffin to be placed upright in his cabin. Such 
a piece of furniture, however, was more suitable to 
his own feelings than to those of his guests and 
attendants ; and an old favourite servant entreated 
him so earnestly to let it be removed, that at length 

* During his long subsequent cruise off Alexandria, Capt. 
Hallowell kept his crew employed and amused in fishing up 
the small anchors in the road, which, with the iron found on the 
masts, was afterwards sold at Rhodes, and the produce applied to 
purchase vegetables and tobacco for the ship’s company. 




LIFE OF NELSON. 


1798.] 


159 


he consented to have the coffin carried below; but 
he gave strict orders that it should be safely stowed, 
and reserved for the purpose for which its brave 
and worthy donor had designed it. 

The victory was complete; but Nelson could 
not pursue it as he would have done, for want of 
means. Had he been provided with small craft, 
nothing could have prevented the destruction of 
the storeships and transports in the port of Alex¬ 
andria : four bomb-vessels would at that time have 
burned the whole in a few hours. “Were I to die 
this moment,” said he in his despatches to the ad¬ 
miralty, “ leant of frigates would be found stamped 
on my heart! No words of mine can express what 
I have suffered, and am suffering, for want of 
them.” He had also to bear up against great 
bodily suffering : the blow had so shaken his head, 
that from its constant and violent aching, and the 
perpetual sickness which accompanied the pain, lie 
could scarcely persuade himself that the skull was 
not fractured. Had it not been for Trowbridge, 
Ball, Hood, and Hollowell, he declared that he 
should have sunk under the fatigue of refitting the 
squadron. “ All,” he said, “ had done well; but 
these officers were his supporters.” But, amidst 
his sufferings and exertions, Nelson could yet think 
of all the consequences of his victory ; and that no 
advantage from it might be lost, he despatched an 
officer over land to India, with letters to the gover¬ 
nor of Bombay, informing him of the arrival of the 
French in Egypt, the total destruction of their fleet, 
and the consequent preservation of India from any 
attempt against it on the part of this formidable 
armament. “ He knew that Bombay,” he said, 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


160 


[179S. 


4< was their first object, if they could get there; 
but he trusted that Almighty God would overthrow 
in Egypt these pests of the human race. Buona¬ 
parte had never yet had to contend with an English 
officer, and he would endeavour to make him re¬ 
spect us.” This despatch he sent upon his own 
responsibility, with letters of credit upon the East 
India Company, addressed to the British consuls, 
vice-consuls, and merchants on his route; Nelson 
saying, “ that if he had done wrong, he hoped the 
bills would be paid, and he would repay the Com¬ 
pany : for, as an Englishman, he should be proud that 
it had been in his power to put our settlements on 
their guard.” The information which by this means 
reached India was of great importance. Orders had 
just been received for defensive preparations, upon a 
scale proportionate to the apprehended danger ; and 
the extraordinary expenses which would otherwise 
have been incurred, were thus prevented. 

Nelson was now at the summit of glory : con¬ 
gratulations, rewards, and honours, were showered 
upon him by all the states, and princes, and powers 
to whom his victory gave a respite. The first com¬ 
munication of this nature which he received was 
from the Turkish sultan ; who, as soon as the in¬ 
vasion of Egypt was known, had called upon “all 
true believers to take arms against those swinish 
infidels the French, that they might deliver these 
blessed habitations from their accursed hands 
and who had ordered his “ pashas to turn night 
into day in their efforts to take vengeance.” The 
present of “his imperial majesty, the powerful, for¬ 
midable, and most magnificent Grand Seignior,” 
was a pelisse of sables* vith broad sleeves, valued 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1798.] 


161 


at five thousand dollars; and a diamond aigrette, 
valued at eighteen thousand: the most honourable 
badge among the Turks ; and in this instance more 
especially honourable, because it was taken from 
one of the royal turbans. 44 If it were worth a mil¬ 
lion,” said Nelson to his wife, 44 my pleasure would 
be to see it in your possession.” The sultan also 
sent, in a spirit worthy of imitation, a purse of two 
thousand sequins, to be distributed among the 
wounded. The mother of the sultan sent him a 
box, set with diamonds, valued at one thousand 
pounds. The czar Paul, in whom the better part 
of his strangely compounded nature at this time 
predominated, presented him with his portrait, set 
in diamonds, in a gold box, accompanied with a 
letter of congratulation, written by his own hand. 
The king of Sardinia also wrote to him, and sent a 
gold box, set with diamonds. Honours in profusion 
were awaiting him at Naples. In his own country 
the king granted these honourable augmentations 
to his armorial ensign ; a chief undulated, argent: 
thereon waves of the sea; from which a palm tree 
issuant, between a disabled ship on the dexter, and 
a ruinous battery on the sinister, all proper : and 
for his crest, on a naval crown, or, the chelengk, 
or plume, presented to him by the Turk, with the 
motto, Palmam qui meruit ferat .* And to his 


* It has been erroneously said that the motto was selected by 
the King :—it was fixed on by Lord Grenville, and taken from an 
ode of Jortin’s. The application was singularly fortunate ; and 
the ode itself breathes a spirit, in which no man ever more truly 
sympathised than Nelson:— 

Concurrant paribus cum ratlins rates . 

Spec lent numina j/onti, et 
Palmam qui meruit ferat , 

M 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


162 


[1798. 


supporters, being a sailor on the dexter, and a lion 
on the sinister, were given these honourable aug¬ 
mentations : a palm branch in the sailor’s hand, 
and another in the paw of the lion, both proper ; 
with a tri-coloured fia£ and staff in the lion’s mouth. 
He was created Baron Nelson of the Nile, and of 
Burnham Thorpe, with a pension of £2000 for his 
own life, and those of his two immediate successors. 
When the grant was moved in the house of com¬ 
mons, General Walpole expressed an opinion, that 
a higher degree of rank ought to be conferred. 
Mr. Pitt made answer, that he thought it needless 
to enter into that question. 44 Admiral Nelson’s 
fame,” he said, 44 would be co-equal with the British 
name; and it would be remembered that he had 
obtained the greatest naval victory on record, when 
no man would think of asking, Whether he had 
been created .a baron, a viscount, or an earl.” It 
was strange that, in the very act of conferring a 
title, the minister should have excused himself for 
not having conferred a higher one, by representing 
all titles, on such an occasion, as nugatory and 
superfluous. True, indeed, whatever title had been 
bestowed, whether viscount, earl, marquis, duke, 
or prince, if our laws had so permitted, he who 
received it would have been Nelson still. That 
name he had ennobled beyond all addition of no¬ 
bility : it was the name by which England loved 
him, France feared him, Italy, Egypt, and Turkey 
celebrated him : and by which he will continue to 
be known while the present kingdoms and languages 
of the world endure, and as long as their history 
after them shall be held in remembrance. It de¬ 
pended upon the degree of rank what should be the 



0 


1798.] LIFE OF NELSON. lfi3 

fashion of his coronet, in what page of the red hook 
his name was to be inserted, and what precedency 
should be allowed his lady in the drawing-room 
and at the ball. That Nelson’s honours were af¬ 
fected thus far, and no farther, might be conceded 
to Mr. Pitt and his colleagues in administration : 
but the degree of rank which they thought proper 
to allot was the measure of their gratitude,* though 
not of his services. This Nelson felt; and this he 
expressed, with indignation, among his friends. 

Whatever may have been the motives of the 
ministry, and whatever the formalities with which 
they excused their conduct to themselves, the im¬ 
portance and magnitude of the victory were univer¬ 
sally acknowledged. A grant of £10,000 was 
voted to Nelson by the East India Company ; the 
Turkish Company presented him with a piece of 
plate; the City of London presented a sword to 
him, and to each of his captains ; gold medals were 
distributed to the captains; and the first lieutenants 


* Mr. Windham mast be exempted from this •well-deserved 
censure. He, whose fate it seems to have been almost always 
to think and feel more generously than those with whom he acted, 
declared, when he contended against his own party for Lord 
Wellington’s peerage, that he always thought Lord Nelson had 
been inadequately rewarded. The case was the more flagrant, 
because an earldom had so lately been granted for the battle of 
St. Vincent ; an action which could never be compared with the 
battle of the Nile, if the very different manner in which it was 
rewarded did not necessarily force a comparison ; especially when 
the part which Nelson bore in it was considered.—Lords Duncan 
and St. Vincent had each a pension of £1000 from the Irish go¬ 
vernment. This was not granted to Nelson, in consequence of 
the Union; though, surely, it would be more becoming to increase 
the British grant, than to save a thousand a year by the Union in 
such cases. 


M 2 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


164 LIFE OF NELSON. [l798. 

of all the ships were promoted, as had been done 
after Lord Howe’s victory. Nelson was exceedingly 
anxious that the captain and first lieutenant of the 
Culloden should not be passed over because of 
their misfortune. To Trowbridge himself he said, 
“ Let us rejoice that the ship which got on shore 
was commanded by an officer whose character is so 
thoroughly established.” To the admiralty he stated, 
that Captain Trowbridge’s conduct was as fully 
entitled to praise as that of any one officer in the 
squadron, and as highly deserving of reward. “ It 
was Trowbridge,” said he, u who equipped the 
squadron so soon at Syracuse: it was Trowbridge 
who exerted himself for me after the action : it was 
Trowbridge who saved the Culloden, when none 
that I know in the service would have attempted 
it.” The gold medal, therefore, by the king’s ex¬ 
press desire, was given to Captain Trowbridge “ for 
his services both before and since, and for the great 
and wonderful exertion which he made at the time of 
the action, in saving and getting off his ship.” 
The private letter from the admiralty to Nelson 
informed him, that the first lieutenants of all the 
ships engaged were to be promoted. Nelson instantly 
wrote to the commander-in-chief.—“ I sincerely 
hope,” said he, “ this is not intended to exclude 
the first lieutenant of the Culloden.—For heaven’s 
sake,—for my sake,—if it be so, get it altered. 
Our dear friend Trowbridge has endured enough. 
His sufferings were, in every respect, more than 
any of us.” To the admiralty he wrote in 
terms equally warm. “ I hope, and believe, the 
word engaged is not intended to exclude the Cullo¬ 
den. The merit of that ship, and her gallant cap- 


1798.J LIFE OF NELSON. 165 

tain, are too well known to benefit by anything I 
could say. Her misfortune was great in getting a- 
ground, while her more fortunate companions were 
in the full tide of happiness. No : I am confident 
that my good Lord Spencer will never add misery to 
misfortune. Captain Trowbridge on shore is superior 
to captains afloat: in the midst of his great misfor¬ 
tunes he made those signals which prevented cer¬ 
tainly the Alexander and Swiftsure from running on 
the shoals. I beg your pardon for writing on a sub¬ 
ject which, I verily believe, has never entered your 
lordship’s head ; but my heart, as it ought to be, is 
warm to my gallant friends.” Thus feelingly alive 
was Nelson to the claims, and interests, and feelings 
of others. The admiralty replied, that the exception 
was necessary, as the ship had not been in action: 
but they desired the commander-in-chief to promote 
the lieutenant upon the first vacancy which should 
occur. 

Nelson, in remembrance of an old and uninter¬ 
rupted friendship, appointed Alexander Davison sole 
prize agent for the captured ships: upon which 
Davison ordered medals to be struck in gold, for the 
captains; in silver, for the lieutenants and warrant 
officers ; in gilt metal, for the petty officers; and in 
copper, for the seamen and marines. The cost of this 
act of liberality amounted nearly to £2000. It is 
worthy of record on another account;—for some of 
the gallant men, who received no other honorary 
badge of their conduct on that memorable day, than 
this copper medal, from a private individual, years 
afterwards, when they died upon a foreign station, 
made it their last request, that the medals might 
carefully be sent home to their respective friends.— 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


166 


[1798. 


So sensible are brave men of honour, in whatever 
rank they may be placed. 

Three of the frigates, whose presence would have 
been so essential a few weeks sooner, joined the 
squadron on the twelfth day after the action. The 
fourth joined a few days after them. Nelson thus 
received despatches, which rendered it necessary 
for him to return to Naples. Before he left Egypt 
he burned three of the prizes; they could not have 
been fitted for a passage to Gibraltar in less than a 
month, and that at a great expense, and with the 
loss of the service of at least two sail of the line. 
“ I rest assured,” he said to the admiralty, “ that 
they will be paid for, and have held out that assu¬ 
rance to the squadron. For if an admiral, after a 
victory, is to look after the captured ships, and not 
to the distressing of the enemy, very dearly, indeed, 
must the nation pay for the prizes. I trust that 
£60,000 will be deemed a very moderate sum for 
them : and when the services, time, and men, with 
the expense of fitting the three ships for a voyage 
to England, are considered, government will save 
nearly as much as they are valued at.—Paying for 
prizes,” he continued, “ is no new idea of mine, 
and would often prove an amazing saving to the 
state, even without taking into calculation what 
the nation loses by the attention of admirals to the 
property of the captors ; an attention absolutely 
necessary, as a recompense for the exertions of the 
officers and men. An admiral may be amply re¬ 
warded by his own feelings, and by the approba¬ 
tion of his superiors ; but what reward have the 
inferior officers and men, but the value of the prizes ? 
If an admiral takes that from them, on any consi- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1793 .] 


167 


deration, he cannot expect to be well supported.” 
To Earl St. Vincent he said, “ If he could have 
been sure that government would have paid a rea¬ 
sonable value for them, he would have ordered two 
of the other prizes to be burnt; for they would cost 
more in refitting, and by the loss of ships attending 
them, than they were worth.” 

Having sent the six remaining prizes forward, under 
Sir James Saumarez, Nelson left Capt. Hood, in 
the Zealous, off Alexandria, with the Swiftsure, 
Goliath, Alcmene, Zealous, and Emerald, and stood 
out to sea himself on the seventeenth day after the 
battle. * 


* “ Some French officers, during the blockade of Alexandria, 
were sent off to Capt. Hallowell to offer a supply of vegetables, 
and observe, of course, the state of the blockading squadron. 
They were received with all possible civility ;—in the course of 
conversation, after dinner, one of them remarked that we 
had made use of unfair weapons during the action, by which 
probably the Orient was burnt; and that General Buona¬ 
parte had expressed great indignation at it. In proof of this 
assertion he stated that in the late gun-boat attacks, their camp 
had twice been set on fire by balls of unextinguishable matter 
which were fired from one of the English boats. Capt. Hallo- 
well instantly ordered the gunner to bring up some of those bails, 
and asked him from whence he had them. To the confusion 
of the accusers he related that they were found on board of the 
Spartiate, one of the ships captured on the 1st of August; as 
these balls were distinguished by particular marks, though, in 
other respects alike, the captain ordered an experiment to be 
made, in order to ascertain the nature of them. The next 
morning, says Mr. Willyams, I accompanied Mr. Parr, the 
gunner, to the island ; the first we tried proved te be a fire-ball, 
but of what materials composed we could not ascertain.. As it 
did not explode (which at first we apprehended), we rolled it 
into the sea, where it continued to burn under water; a black 
pitchy substance exuding from it till only an iron skeleton of a 
shell remained. The whole had been carefully crusted over 



168 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


[ 1798 . 


CHAPTER VI. 

Nelson returns to Naples—State of that Court and Kingdom- 
General Mack—The French approach Naples—Flight of the 
Royal Family—Successes of the Allies in Italy—Transactions 
in the Bay of Naples—Expulsion of the French from the Nea¬ 
politan and Roman States—Nelson is made duke of Bronte 
—He leaves the Mediterranean and returns to England. 

Nelson’s health had suffered greatly while he 
was in the Agamemnon. 44 My complaint,” he said, 
44 is as if a girth were buckled taut over my breast ; 
and my endeavour in the night is to get it loose.” 
After the battle of Cape St. Vincent he felt a little 
rest to be so essential to his recovery, that he de¬ 
clared he would not continue to serve longer than 
the ensuing summer, unless it should be absolutely 
necessary : for, in his own strong language, he had 
then been four years and nine months without one 
moment’s repose for body or mind. A few months’ 
intermission of labour he had obtained—not of rest, 
for it was purchased with the loss of a limb ; and 
the greater part of the time had been a season of 

with a substance that gave it the appearance of a perfect shell. 
On setting fire to the fusee of the other, which was differently 
marked, it burst into many pieces : though somewhat alarmed, 
fortunately none of us were hurt. People account differently 
for the fire that happened on boaid of the French admiral : but 
why may it not have arisen from some of these fire-balls left, 
perhaps carelessly on the poop, or cabin, when it first broke 
out? and what confirms my opinion on this head is, that several 
pieces of such shells were found sticking in the Bellerophon, 
which she most probably received from the first fire of L’Orient." 

Willyams’s Voyages in the Mediterranean, p. 145. 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


1798.] LIFE OF NELSON. 169 

constant pain. As soon as his shattered frame had 
sufficiently recovered for him to resume his duties, 
he was called to services of greater importance than 
any on which he had hitherto been employed, and 
they brought with them commensurate fatigue and 
care. The anxiety which he endured during his 
long pursuit of the enemy was rather changed in its 
direction, than abated by their defeat: and this con¬ 
stant wakefulness of thought, added to the effect of 
his wound, and the exertions from which it was not 
possible for one of so ardent and wide-reaching a 
mind to spare himself, nearly proved fatal. On his 
way back to Italy he was seized with fever. For 
eighteen hours his life was despaired of; and even 
when the disorder took a favourable turn, and he 
was so far recovered as again to appear on deck, he 
himself thought that his end was approaching—such 
was the weakness to which the fever and cough had 
reduced him. Writing to Earl St. Vincent, on the 
passage, he said to him, “ I never expect, my dear 
lord, to see your face again. It may please God 
that this will be the finish to that fever of anxiety 
which I have endured from the middle of June: 
but be that as it pleases his goodness. I am resigned 
to his will.” 

The kindest attentions of the warmest friendship 
were awaiting him at Naples. “ Come here,” said 
Sir William Hamilton, “ for God’s sake, my dear 
friend, as soon as the service will permit you. A 
pleasant apartment is ready for you in my house, 
and Emma is looking out for the softest pillows to 
repose the few wearied limbs you have left.” Happy 
would it have been for Nelson if warm and careful 
friendship had been all that awaited him there! 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


170 


[ 1798 . 


He himself saw at that time the character of the 
Neapolitan court, as it first struck an Englishman, 
in its true light: and when he w r as on the way, he 
declared that he detested the voyage to Naples, and 
that nothing but necessity could have forced him to 
it. But never was any hero, on his return from 
victory, welcomed with more heartfelt joy. Before 
the battle of Aboukir the court of Naples had been 
trembling for its existence. The language which 
the directory held towards it was well described by 
Sir William Hamilton, as being exactly the lan¬ 
guage of a highwayman. The Neapolitans were 
told that Benevento might be added to their domi¬ 
nions, provided they would pay a large sum, suffi¬ 
cient to satisfy the directory ; and they were warned, 
that if the proposal were refused, or even if there 
were any delay in accepting it, the French would 
revolutionise all Italy. The joy, therefore, of the 
court at Nelson’s success w T as in proportion to the 
dismay from which that success relieved them. 
The queen w r as a daughter of Maria Theresa, and 
sister of Marie Antoinette. Had she been the 
wisest and gentlest of her sex, it would not have 
been possible for her to have regarded the French 
wdthout hatred and horror; and the progress of re¬ 
volutionary opinions, while it perpetually reminded 
her of her sister’s fate, excited no unreasonable ap¬ 
prehensions for her own. Her feelings, naturally 
ardent, and little accustomed to restraint, were 
excited to the highest pitch when the new T s of the 
victory arrived. Lady Hamilton, her constant friend 
and favourite, who was present, says, “ It is not 
possible to describe her transports : she wept, she 
kissed her husband, her children, walked franticly 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1793 .] 


171 


about the room, burst into tears again, and again 
kissed and embraced every person near her; ex¬ 
claiming, 4 O brave Nelson ! O God ! bless and pro¬ 
tect our brave deliverer ! O Nelson ! Nelson ! what 
do we not owe you ! O conqueror—saviour of 
Italy ! O that my swoln heart could now tell him 
personally what we owe to him/ ” She herself wrote 
to the Neapolitan ambassador at London upon the 
occasion, in terms which show the fullness of her 
joy, and the height of the hopes which it had 
excited. 44 1 wish I could give wings,” said she, 
44 to the bearer of the news, and, at the same time, 
to our most sincere gratitude. The whole of the 
sea-coast of Italy is saved; and this is owing alone 
to the generous English. This battle, or, to speak 
more correctly, this total defeat of the regicide 
squadron, was obtained by the valour of this brave 
admiral, seconded by a navy which is the terror of 
its enemies. The victory is so complete, that I can 
still scarcely believe it; and if it were not the 
brave English nation, which is accustomed to per¬ 
form prodigies by sea, I could not persuade myself 
that it had happened. It would have moved you 
to have seen all my children, boys and girls, hang¬ 
ing on my neck, and crying for joy at the happy 
new T s.—Recommend the hero to his master: he has 
filled the whole of Italy with admiration of the 
English. Great hopes were entertained of some 
advantages being gained by his bravery, but no one 
could look for so total a destruction. All here are 
drunk with joy.” 

Such being the feelings of the royal family, it 
may well be supposed with what delight, and with 
what honours, Nelson would be welcomed. Early 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


172 


[ 1798 . 


on the 22d of September, the poor wretched Van¬ 
guard, as lie called his shattered vessel, appeared 
in sight of Naples. The Culloden and Alexander 
had preceded her by some days, and given notice 
of her approach. Many hundred boats and barges 
were ready to go forth and meet him, with music 
and streamers, and every demonstration of joy and 
triumph. Sir William and Lady Hamilton led the 
way in their state barge. They had seen Nelson 
only for a few days, four years ago, but they then 
perceived in him that heroic spirit which was now 
so fully and gloriously manifested to the world. 
Emma Lady Hamilton, who from this time so 
greatly influenced his future life, was a woman 
whose personal accomplishments have seldom been 
equalled, and whose powers of mind were not less 
fascinating than her person. She was passionately 
attached to the queen : and by her influence the 
British fleet had obtained those supplies at Syra¬ 
cuse, without which, Nelson always asserted, the 
battle of Aboukir could not have been fought. 
During the long interval which passed before any 
tidings were received, her anxiety had been hardly 
less than that of Nelson himself, while pursuing 
an enemy of whom he could obtain no informa¬ 
tion : and when the tidings were brought her by a 
joyful bearer, open-mouthed, its effect was such, 
that she fell like one who had been shot. She and 
Sir William had literally been made ill by their 
hopes and fears, and joy at a catastrophe so far 
exceeding all that they had dared to hope for. 
Their admiration for the hero necessarily produced 
a degree of proportionate gratitude and affection; 
ind when their barge came alongside the Van- 


1798.] LIFE OF NELSON. 173 

guard, at the sight of Nelson, Lady Hamilton 
sprang up the ship’s side, and exclaiming, “ O 
God ! is it possible !” fell into his arms, more, he 
says, like one dead than alive. He described the 
meeting as “ terribly affecting.” These friends 
had scarcely recovered from their tears, when the 
king, who went out to meet him three leagues in 
the royal barge, came on board and took him by 
the hand, calling him his deliverer and preserver ; 
frorii all the boats around he was saluted with 
the same appellations ; the multitude who sur¬ 
rounded him when he landed repeated the same 
enthusiastic cries ; and the lazzaroni displayed their 
joy by holding up birds in cages, and giving them 
their liberty as he passed. 

His birth-day, which occurred a week after his 
arrival, was celebrated with one of the most splen¬ 
did fetes ever beheld at Naples. But, notwith¬ 
standing the splendour with which he was encir¬ 
cled, and the flattering honours with which all 
ranks welcomed him, Nelson was fully sensible of 
the depravity, as well as weakness, of those by 
whom he was surrounded. “ What precious mo¬ 
ments,” said he, “ the courts of Naples and Vienna 
are losing! Three months would liberate Italy! 
but this court is so enervated, that the happy mo¬ 
ment will be lost. I am very unwell ; and their 
miserable conduct is not likely to cool my irritable 
temper. It is a country of fiddlers and poets, 
whores and scoundrels.” This sense of their ruin¬ 
ous weakness he always retained ; nor was he ever 
blind to the mingled folly and treachery of the 
Neapolitan ministers, and the complication of ini¬ 
quities under which the country groaned : but he 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


174 


[ 1798 . 


insensibly, under the influence of Lady Hamilton, 
formed an affection for the court, to whose mis- 
government the miserable condition of the country 
was so greatly to be imputed. By the kindness of 
her nature, as well as by her attractions, she had 
won his heart. Earl St. Vincent, writing to her 
at this time, says, “ Ten thousand most grateful 
thanks are due to your ladyship for restoring the 
health of our invaluable friend Nelson, on whose 
life the fate of the remaining governments in Eu¬ 
rope, whose system has not been deranged by these 
devils, depends. Pray do not let your fascinating 
Neapolitan dames approach too near him, for he 
is made of flesh and blood, and cannot resist their 
temptations." But this was addressed to the very 
person from whom he was in danger. 

The state of Naples may be described in few 
words. The king was one of the Spanish Bour¬ 
bons. As the Caesars have shown us to what 
wickedness the moral nature of princes may be 
perverted, so in this family, the degradation to 
which their intellectual nature can be reduced has 
been not less conspicuously evinced. Ferdinand, 
like the rest of his race, was passionately fond of 
field sports*, and cared for nothing else. His 


* Sir William Hamilton’s letters give the history of one 
of this sovereign’s campaigns against the wolves and boars. 
‘‘ .Our first chase has not succeeded ; the king would direct how 
we should beat the wood, and began at the wrong end, by 
which the wolves and boars escaped. The king’s faco is very 
long at this moment, but, I dare say, to-morrow’s good sport 
will shorten it again.”—“ No sport again ! He has no other 
comfort to-day, than having killed a wild cat, and his faco is 
a yard long. However, his majesty has vowed vengeance on 
the boars to-morrow, and will go according to his own fancy ; 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


1798.] 


175 


queen had all the vices of the house of Austria, 
v/itli little to mitigate, and nothing to ennoble them ; 
—provided she could have her pleasures, and the 
king his sports, they cared not in what manner 
the revenue was raised or administered. Of course 
a system of favouritism existed at court, and the 
vilest and most impudent corruption prevailed in 
every department of state, and in every branch of 
administration, from the highest to the lowest. It 
is only the institutions of Christianity, and the 
vicinity of better-regulated states, which prevent 
kingdoms, under such circumstances of misrule, 
from sinking into a barbarism like that of Turkey. 
A sense of better things was kept alive in some of 


and I dare say there will be a terrible slaughter.” — “To-day 
has been so thoroughly bad that we have not been able to stir 
out, and the king, of course, in bad humour.” — “ The king 
has killed twenty-one boars to-day, and is quite happy.’’ — 
“ We have had a miserable cold day, but good sport. I killed 
two boars and a doe ; the king nineteen boars, two stags, two 
does, and a porcupine. He is happy beyond expression.’’ — 
“ Only think of his not being satisfied with killing more than 
thirty yesterday ! He said, if the wind had favoured him, he 
should have killed sixty at least.” — “The king has killed 
eighty-one animals of one sort or other to-day, and amongst 
them a wolf and some stags. He fell asleep in the coach : 
and waking, told me he had been dreaming of shooting. One 
would have thought he had shed blood enough.”'—■“ It is a 
long-faced day with the king. We went far : the weather was 
bad ; and, after all, met with little or no game. Yesterday, 
when we brought home all we killed, it filled the house com¬ 
pletely, and to-day they are obliged to whitewash the walls to 
take away the blood. There were more than four hundred 
boars, deer, stags and all. To-morrow we are to have another 
slaughter ; and not a word of reason or common sense do I 
meet with the whole day, till I retire to my volumes of the 
old Gentleman’s Magazine, which just keeps my mind from 
starving.” 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


176 


[ 1793 . 


the Neapolitans by literature, and by their inter¬ 
course with happier countries. These persons na¬ 
turally looked to France, at the commencement of 
the revolution, and, during all the horrors of that 
revolution, still cherished a hope, that, by the aid 
of France, they might be enabled to establish a 
new order of things in Naples. They were griev¬ 
ously mistaken in supposing that the principles of 
liberty would ever be supported by France, but 
they were not mistaken in believing that no govern¬ 
ment could be worse than their own; and, there¬ 
fore, they considered any change as desirable. In 
this opinion men of the most different characters 
agreed. Many of the nobles, who were not in 
favour, wished for a revolution, that they might ob¬ 
tain the ascendancy to which they thought them¬ 
selves entitled : men of desperate fortunes desired 
it, in the hope of enriching themselves; knaves 
and intriguers sold themselves to the French, to 
promote it; and a few enlightened men, and true 
lovers of their country, joined in the same cause, 
from the purest and noblest motives. All these 
were confounded under the common name of Ja¬ 
cobins; and the Jacobins of the continental king¬ 
doms were regarded by the English with more hatred 
than they deserved. They were classed with Phi¬ 
lippe Egalite, Marat, and Hebert;—whereas they 
deserved rather to be ranked, if not with Locke, 
and Sidney, and Russel, at least with Argyle and 
Monmouth, and those who, having the same object 
as the prime movers of our own revolution, failed 
in their premature, but not unworthy attempt. 

No circumstances could be more unfavourable 
to the best interests of Europe, than those which 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1798 .] 


177 


placed England in strict alliance with the super¬ 
annuated and abominable governments of the con¬ 
tinent. The subjects of those governments who 
wished for freedom thus became enemies to England, 
and dupes and agents of France. They looked to 
their own grinding grievances, and did not see the 
danger with which the liberties of the world were 
threatened: England, on the other hand, saw the 
danger in its true magnitude, but was blind to 
these grievances, and found herself compelled to 
support systems which had formerly been equally 
the object of her abhorrence and her contempt. 
This was the state of Nelsons mind ; he knew that 
there could be no peace for Europe till the pride 
of France was humbled, and her strength broken ; 
and he regarded all those who were the friends of 
France as traitors to the common cause, as well 
as to their own individual sovereigns. There are 
situations in which the most opposite and hostile 
parties may mean equally well, and yet act equally 
wrong. The court of Naples, unconscious of com¬ 
mitting any crime by continuing the system of mis¬ 
rule to which they had succeeded, conceived that, 
in maintaining things as they were, they were 
maintaining their own rights, and preserving the 
people from such horrors as had been perpetrated 
in France. The Neapolitan revolutionists thought 
that without a total change of system, any relief 
from the present evils was impossible, and they 
believed themselves justified in bringing about that 
change by any means. Both parties knew that it 
was the fixed intention of the French to revolution¬ 
ise Naples. The revolutionists supposed that it w T as 
for the purpose of establishing a free government; 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


178 


[ 1798 . 


the court, and all disinterested persons, were per¬ 
fectly aware that the enemy had no other object than 
conquest and plunder. 

The battle of the Nile shook the power of France. 
Her most successful general, and her finest army, 
were blocked up in Egypt—hopeless, as it appeared, 
of return; and the government was in the hands of 
men without talents, without character, and divided 
among themselves. Austria, whom Buonaparte 
had terrified into a peace, at a time when con¬ 
stancy on her part would probably have led to his 
destruction, took advantage of the crisis to renew 
the war. Russia also was preparing to enter the 
field with unbroken forces ; led by a general, whose 
extraordinary military genius would, have entitled 
him to a high and honourable rank in history, if 
it had not been sullied by all the ferocity of a bar¬ 
barian. Naples, seeing its destruction at hand, and 
thinking that the only means of averting it was 
by meeting the danger, after long vacillations, 
which were produced by the fears, and weakness, 
and treachery of its council, agreed at last to join 
this new coalition with a numerical force of eighty 
thousand men. Nelson told the king, in plain 
terms, that he had his choice : either to advance, 
trusting to God for his blessing on a just cause, 
and prepared to die sword in hand—or to remain 
quiet, and be kicked out of his kingdom : one of 
these tilings must happen. The king made answer, 
he would go on, and trust in God and Nelson; 
and Nelson, who would else have returned to 
Egypt, for the purpose of destroying the French 
shipping in Alexandria, gave up his intention at 
the desire of the Neapolitan court, and resolved 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1798 .] 


179 


to remain on that station, in the hope that he might 
be useful to the movements of the army. He sus¬ 
pected also, with reason, that the continuance of his 
fleet was so earnestly requested, because the royal 
family thought their persons would be safer, in case 
of any mishap, under the British flag, than under 
their own. 

His first object was the recovery of Malta; an 
island which the King of Naples pretended to claim. 
The Maltese, whom the villanous knights of their 
order had betrayed to France, had taken up arms 
against their rapacious invaders, with a spirit and 
unanimity worthy the highest praise. They block¬ 
aded the French garrison by land, and a small 
squadron, under Captain Ball, began to blockade 
them by sea, on the 12th of October. Twelve days 
afterwards Nelson arrived. “ It is as I suspected,” 
he says; “ the ministers at Naples know nothing 
of the situation of the island. Not a house or bas¬ 
tion of the town is in possession of the islanders : 
and the Marquis dc Niza tells us, they want arms, 
victuals, and support. He does not know that any 
Neapolitan officers are in the island ; perhaps, al¬ 
though I have their names, none are arrived ; and 
it is very certain, by the marquis's account, that 
no supplies have been sent by the governors of 
Syracuse or Messina.” The little island of Gozo, 
dependent upon Malta, which had also been seized 
and garri-oned by the French, capitulated soon 
after his arrival, and was taken possession of by 
the British, in the name of his Sicilian Majesty,— 
a power who had no better claim to it than France. 
Having seen this effected, and reinforced Captain 
Balk he left that able officer to perform a most 

N 2 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


180 


[ 1798 . 


.arduous and important part, and returned himself 
to co-operate with the intended movements of the 
Neapolitans. 

General Mack was at the head of the Neapolitan 
troops:—all that is now doubtful concerning this 
man is, whether he was a coward or a traitor :—at 
that time he was assiduously extolled as a most 
consummate commander, to whom Europe might 
look for deliverance: and when he was introduced 
by the king and queen to the British admiral, the 
queen said to him, “ Be to us by land, general, 
what my hero Nelson has been by sea.” Mack, 
on his part, did not fail to praise the force which 
he was appointed to command : “ It was,” he said, 
“ the finest army in Europe.” Nelson agreed with 
him that there could not be finer men : but when 
the general, at a review, so directed the operations 
of a mock fight, that, by an unhappy blunder, his 
own troops were surrounded instead of those of the 
enemy, he turned to his friends, and exclaimed, with 
bitterness, that the fellow did not understand his 
business. Another circumstance, not less charac¬ 
teristic, confirmed Nelson in his judgment. “ Ge¬ 
neral Mack,” said he, in one of his letters, “ cannot 
move without five carriages! I have formed my 
opinion. I heartily pray I may be mistaken.” 

While Mack, at the head of thirty-two thousand 
men, marched into the Roman state, five thousand 
Neapolitans were embarked on board the British 
and Portuguese squadron, to take possession of Leg¬ 
horn. This was effected without opposition; and 
the Grand Duke of Tuscany, whose neutrality had 
been so outrageously violated by the French, was 
better satisfied with the measure than some of the 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1798.J LIFE OF NELSON. 181 

Neapolitans themselves. Naselli, their general, 
refused to seize the French vessels at Leghorn, 
because he, and the Duke di Sangro, who was 
ambassador at the Tuscan court, maintained that 
the King of Naples was not at war with France. 
“ What ! ” said Nelson, “ has not the king re¬ 
ceived, as a conquest made by him, the republican 
flag taken at Gozo ? Is not his own flag flying 
there, and at Malta, not only by his permission, 
but by his order ? Is not his flag shot at every 
day by the French, and their shot returned from 
batteries which bear that flag ? Are not two fri¬ 
gates and a corvette placed under my orders ready 
to fight the French, meet them where they may ? 
Has not the king sent publicly from Naples, guns, 
mortars, &c., with officers and artillery, against the 
French in Malta ? If these acts are not tantamount 
to any written paper, I give up all knowledge of 
what is war.” This reasoning was of less avail 
than argument addressed to the general’s fears.— 
Nelson told him, that if he permitted the many 
hundred French who were then in the mole to re¬ 
main neutral, till they had a fair opportunity of 
being active, they had one sure resource, if all 
other schemes failed, which was to set one vessel 
on fire ; the mole would be destroyed, probably the 
town also; and the port ruined for twenty years. 
This representation made Naselli agree to the half 
measure of laying an embargo on the vessels;— 
among them were a great number of French pri¬ 
vateers, some of which were of such force as to 
threaten the greatest mischief to our commerce, 
and about seventy sail of vessels belonging to the 
Ligurian republic, as Genoa was now called, laden 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


182 LIFE OF NELSON. [l79S. 

with corn, and ready to sail for Genoa and France; 
where their arrival would have expedited the en¬ 
trance of more French troops into Italy. 44 The 
general,” said Nelson, 44 saw, I believe, the conse¬ 
quence of permitting these vessels to depart in the 
same light as myself: but there is this difference 
between us: he prudently, and certainly safely, 
waits the orders of his court, taking no responsibi¬ 
lity upon himself; I act from the circumstances of 
the moment, as I feel may be most advantageous for 
the cause which I serve, taking all responsibility 
on myself.” It was in vain to hope for anything 
vigorous or manly from such men as Nelson was 
compelled to act with. The crews of the French 
ships and their allies w T ere ordered to depart in two 
days. Four days elapsed, and nobody obeyed the 
order; nor, in spite of the representations of the 
British minister, Mr. Wyndham, were any means 
taken to enforce it :—the true Neapolitan shuffle, 
as Nelson called it, took place on all occasions. 
After an absence of ten days he returned to Na¬ 
ples : and receiving intelligence there from Mr. 
Wyndham, that the privateers were at last to be 
disarmed, the corn landed, and the crews sent away, 
he expressed his satisfaction at the news in charac¬ 
teristic language, saying, 44 So far I am content. The 
enemy will be distressed; and, thank God, I shall 
get no money. The world, I know, think that 
money is our god ; and now they will be undeceived 
as far as relates to us. Down, down with the 
French ! is my constant prayer.” 

Odes, sonnets, and congratulatory poems of 
every description, were poured in upon Nelson, on 
his arrival at Naples. An Irish Franciscan, who 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


183 


1793 .] 

was one of the poets not being content with pane¬ 
gyric upon this occasion, ventured upon a flight of 
prophecy, and predicted that Lord Nelson would 
take Rome with his ships. His lordship re¬ 
minded Father M 4 Cormick, that ships could not 
ascend the Tiber : but the father, who had pro¬ 
bably forgotten this circumstance, met the objec¬ 
tion with a bold front, and declared he saw that it 
would come to pass notwithstanding. Rejoicings 
of this kind were of short duration. The Kino- of 
Naples was with the army which had entered Rome; 
but the castle of St. Angelo was held by the French, 
and thirteen thousand French were strongly posted 
in the Roman states at Castallana. Mack had 
marched against them with twenty thousand men. 
Nelson saw that the event was doubtful;—or rather 
that there could be very little hope of the result. 
But the immediate fate of Naples, as he well knew, 
hung upon the issue. 44 If Mack is defeated,” said 
he, 44 in fourteen days this country is lost; for the 
emperor has not yet moved his army, and Naples 
has not the power of resisting the enemy. It was 
not a case for choice, but of necessity, which in¬ 
duced the king to march out of his kingdom, and 
not wait till the French had collected a force suffi¬ 
cient to drive him out of it in a week.” He had no 
reliance upon the Neapolitan officers ; who, as he 
described them, seemed frightened at a drawn 
sword or a loaded gun ; and he was perfectly aware 
of the consequences which the sluggish movements 
and deceitful policy of the Austrians were likely to 
bring down upon themselves, and all their conti¬ 
nental allies. 44 A delayed war on the part of the 
emperor,” said he, writing to the British minister 


184 LIFE OF NELSON. £l793. 

at Vienna, “ will be destructive to this monarchy 
of Naples; and, of course, to the newly-acquired 
dominions of the emperor in Italy. Had the war 
commenced in September or October, all Italy 
would, at this moment, have been liberated. This 
month is worse than the last: the next will render 
the contest doubtful; and, in six months, when 
the Neapolitan republic will be organised, armed 
and with its numerous resources called forth, the 
emperor will not only be defeated in Italy, but will 
totter on his throne at Vienna. Down, dozen with 
the French ! ought to be written in the council- 
room of every country in the world: and may 
Almighty God give right thoughts to every sove¬ 
reign, is my constant prayer !” His perfect foresight 
of the immediate event was clearly shown in this 
letter, when he desired the ambassador to assure the 
empress, (who was a daughter of the house of 
Naples,) that, notwithstanding the councils which 
had shaken the throne of her father and mother, he 
would remain there, ready to save their persons, and 
her brothers and sisters ; and that he had also left- 
ships at Leghorn, to save the lives of the grand duke 
and her sister : “For all,” said he, “must be a re¬ 
public, if the emperor does not act with expedition 
and vigour.” 

His fears were soon verified. “ The Neapolitan 
officers,” said Nelson, “ did not lose much honour, 
for, God knows, they had not much to lose; but 
they lost all they had.” General St. Philip com¬ 
manded the right wing, of nineteen thousand men. 
He fell in with three thousand of the enemv ; and, 

V ' * 

as soon as he came near enough, deserted to them 
One of his men had virtue enough to level a mus- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1S5 


1798 .] 

ket at him, and shot him through the arm ; but 
the wound was not sufficient to prevent him from 
ioining with the French in pursuit of his own coun¬ 
trymen. Cannon, tents, baggage, and military 
chest, were all forsaken by the runaways, though 
they lost only forty men : for the French having 
put them to flight, and got possession of everything, 
did not pursue an army of more than three times 
their own number. The main body of the Neapo¬ 
litans, under Mack, did not behave better. The 
king returned to Naples, where every day brought 
with it the tidings of some new disgrace from the 
army, and the discovery of some new treachery at 
home ; till, four days after his return, the general 
sent him advice, that there was no prospect of 
stopping the progress of the enemy, and that the 
royal family must look to their own personal safety. 
The state of the public mind at Naples was such, 
at this time, that neither the British minister, nor 
the British admiral, thought it prudent to appear at 
court. Their motions were watched; and the re¬ 
volutionists had even formed a plan for seizing and 
detaining them as hostages, to prevent any attack 
on the city after the French should have taken 
possession of it. A letter, which Nelson addressed 
at this time to the first lord of the admiralty, shows 
in what manner he contemplated the possible issue 
of the storm. It was in these words :—“ My dear 
lord, there is an old saying, that when things are 
at the worst they must mend : now the mind of 
man cannot fancy things worse than they are here. 
But, thank God ! my health is better, my mind never 
firmer, and my heart in the right trim to comfort, 
relieve, and protect those whom it is my duty to 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


186 


L179S. 


afford assistance to. Pray, my lord, assure our 
gracious sovereign, that, while I live, I will support 
his glory; and that, if I fall, it shall be in a manner 
worthy of your lordship’s faithful and obliged Nel¬ 
son. I must not write more. Every word may be 
a text for a long letter.” 

Meantime Lady Hamilton arranged everything 
for the removal of the royal family. This was 
conducted, on her part, with the greatest address, 
and without suspicion, because she had been in 
habits of constant correspondence with the queen. 
It was known, that the removal could not be 
effected without danger; for the mob, and espe¬ 
cially the lazzaroni, were attached to the king: 
and as, at this time, they felt a natural presump¬ 
tion in their own numbers and strength, they in¬ 
sisted that he should not leave Naples. Several 
persons fell victims to their fury : among others 
was a messenger from Vienna, whose body was 
dragged under the windows of the palace in the 
king's sight. The king and queen spoke to the 
mob, and pacified them ; but it would not have 
been safe, while they were in this agitated state, 
to have embarked the effects of the royal family 
openly. Lady Hamilton, like a heroine of modern 
romance, explored, with no little danger, a sub¬ 
terraneous passage, leading from the palace to the 
sea- side : through this passage, the royal treasures, 
the choicest pieces of painting and sculpture, and 
other property, to the amount of two millions and 
a half, were conveyed to the shore, and stowed 
safely on board the English ships. On the night 
of the 21st, at half-past eight, Nelson landed, 
brought out the whole royal family, embarked them 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1799.] 


18 f 


in thi •ee barges, and carried them safely, through a 
tremendous sea, to the Vanguard. Notice was 
then immediately given to the British merchants, 
that they would be received on board any ship in 
the squadron. Their property had previously been 
embarked in transports. Two days were passed 
in the bay, for the purpose of taking such persons 
on board as required an asylum ; and, on the night 
of the 23d, the fleet sailed. The next day a more 
violent storm arose than Nelson had ever before 
encountered. On the 25th, the youngest of the 
princes was taken ill, and died in Lady Hamilton’s 
arms. During this whole trying season, Lady 
Hamilton waited upon the royal family with the 
zeal of the most devoted servant, at a time when, 
except one man, no person belonging to the court 
assisted them. 

On the morning of the 26th the royal family 
were landed at Palermo. It was soon seen that 
their flight had not been premature. Prince Pig- 
natelli, who had been left as vicar-general and 
viceroy, with orders to defend the kingdom to the 
last rock in Calabria, sent plenipotentiaries to the 
French camp before Capua; and they, for the sake 
of saving the capital, signed an armistice, by which 
the greater part of the kingdom was given up to 
the enemy: a cession that necessarily led to the 
loss of the whole. This was on the 10th of Ja¬ 
nuary. The French advanced towards Naples. 
Mack, under pretext of taking shelter from the 
fury of the lazzaroni, fled to the French general 
Championet, who sent him under an escort to 
Milan: but, as France hoped for farther services 
from this wretched traitor, it was thought prudent 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


188 


[ 1799 . 


to treat him apparently as a prisoner of war. The 
Neapolitan army disappeared in a few days: of 
the men, some following their officers, deserted to 
the enemy : the greater part took the opportunity 
of disbanding themselves. The lazzaroni proved 
true to their country : they attacked the enemy’s 
advanced posts, drove them in, and were not dis¬ 
pirited by the murderous defeat which they suffered 
from the main body. Flying into the city, they 
continued to defend it, even after the French had 
planted their artillery in the principal streets. Had 
there been a man of genius to have directed their 
enthusiasm, or had there been any correspondent 
feelings in the higher ranks, Naples might have set 
a glorious example to Europe, and have proved the 
grave of every Frenchman who entered it. But the 
vices of the government had extinguished all other 
patriotism than that of a rabble, who had no other 
virtue than that sort of loyalty, which was like the 
fidelity of a dog to its master. This fidelity the 
French and their adherents counteracted by another 
kind of devotion: the priests affirmed that St. Ja- 
nuarius had declared in favour of the revolution. 
The miracle of his blood was performed with the 
usual success, and more than usual effect, on the 
very evening when, after two days of desperate 
fighting, the French obtained possession of Naples. 
A French guard of honour was stationed at ■ his 
church. Championet gave, “ Respect for St. Ja- 
nuarius !” as the word for the army ; and the next 
day Te Deum was sung by the archbishop, in the 
cathedral; and the inhabitants were invited to at¬ 
tend the ceremony, and join in thanksgiving for 
the glorious entry of the French; who, it was said, 


1799 .] LIFE OF NELSON. 189 

being under the peculiar protection of Providence, 
bad regenerated the Neapolitans, and were come to 
establish and consolidate their happiness. 

It seems to have been Nelson’s opinion, that the 
Austrian cabinet regarded the conquest of Naples 
with complacency, and that its measures were di¬ 
rected so as designedly not to prevent the French 
from overrunning it. That cabinet was assuredly 
capable of any folly and of any baseness : and it is 
not improbable that, at this time, calculating upon 
the success of the new coalition, it indulged a 
dream of adding extensively to its former Italian 
possessions; and, therefore, left the few remaining 
powers of Italy to be overthrown, as a means which 
would facilitate its own ambitious views. The king 
of Sardinia, finding it impossible longer to endure 
the exactions of France, and the insults of the 
French commissary, went to Leghorn, embarked on 
board a Danish frigate, and sailed, under British 
protection, to Sardinia—that part of his dominions 
which the maritime supremacy of England ren¬ 
dered a secure asylum. On his arrival he published 
a protest against the conduct of France ; declaring, 
upon the faith and word of a king, that he had 
never infringed, even in the slightest degree, the 
treaties which he had made with the French re¬ 
public. Tuscany was soon occupied by French 
troops : a fate which bolder policy might, perhaps, 
have failed to avert, but which its weak and timid 
neutrality rendered inevitable. Nelson began to 
fear even for Sicily. “ Oh, my dear sir,” said he, 
writing to Commodore Duckworth, “ one thousand 
English troops would save Messina,—and I fear 
General Stuart cannot give me men to snve this 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


190 LIFE OF NELSON. [l799. 

most important island!” But his representations 
were not lost upon Sir Charles Stuart: this officer 
hastened immediately from Minorca, with a thou¬ 
sand men, assisted in the measures of defence which 
were taken, and did not return before he had satis¬ 
fied himself, that if the Neapolitans were excluded 
from the management of affairs, and the spirit of 
the peasantry properly directed, Sicily was safe. 
Before his coming, Nelson had offered the king, if 
no resources should arrive, to defend Messina with 
the ship’s company of an English man-of-war. 

Russia had now entered into the war. Corfu 
surrendered to a Russian and Turkish fleet, acting 
now, for the first time, in strange confederacy; yet 
against a powder which was certainly the common 
and worst enemy of both. Trowbridge having given 
up the blockade of Alexandria to Sir Sidney Smith, 
joined Nelson, bringing with him a considerable 
addition of strength; and in himself, what Nelson 
valued more, a man, upon whose sagacity, indefa¬ 
tigable zeal, and inexhaustible resources, he could 
place full reliance. Trowbridge was entrusted to 
commence the operations against the French in the 
bay of Naples :—meantime Cardinal Ruffo, a man 
of questionable character, but of a temper fitted 
for such times, having landed in Calabria, raised 
what he called a Christian army, composed of the 
best and the vilest materials ; loyal peasants, en¬ 
thusiastic priests and friars, galley slaves, the emp¬ 
tying of the jails, and banditti. The islands in the 
bay of Naples were joyfully delivered up by the inha¬ 
bitants, who were in a state of famine already, 
from the effect of this baleful revolution. Trow¬ 
bridge distributed among them all his flour ; and 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1799-] LIFE OF NELSON. 191 

Nelson pressed the Sicilian court incessantly for 
supplies; telling them, that £10,000 given away 
in provisions would, at this time, purchase a king¬ 
dom. Money, he was told, they had not to give; 
and the wisdom and integrity which might have 
supplied its want were not to be found. “ There 
is nothing,” said he, “ which I propose, that is not, 
as far as orders go, implicitly complied with ; but 
the execution is dreadful, and almost makes me mad. 
My desire to serve their majesties faithfully, as is 
my duty, has been such, that I am almost blind and 
worn out; and cannot, in my present state, hold 
much longer.” 

Before any government can be overthrown by the 
consent of the people, the government must be in¬ 
tolerably oppressive, or the people thoroughly cor¬ 
rupted. Bad as the misrule at Naples had been, its 
consequences had been felt far less there than in 
Sicily ; and the peasantry had that attachment to 
the soil which gives birth to so many of the noblest 
as well as of the happiest feelings. In all the 
islands the people were perfectly frantic with joy 
when they saw the Neapolitan colours hoisted. At 
Procida, Trowbridge could not procure even a rag 
of the tri-coloured flag to lay at the king’s feet: 
it was rent into ten thousand pieces by the inhabit¬ 
ants, and entirely destroyed. “ The horrid treat¬ 
ment of the French,” he said, “ had made them 
mad.” It exasperated the ferocity of a character 
which neither the laws nor the religion under which 
they lived tended to mitigate. Their hatred was 
especially directed against the Neapolitan revolu¬ 
tionists ; and the fishermen, in concert among 
themselves, chose each his own victim, whom he 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


192 LIFE OF NELSON. [l799. 

would stiletto when the day of vengeance should 
arrive. The head of one was sent off one morning 
to Trowbridge, with his basket of grapes for break¬ 
fast ; and a note from the Italian who had, what 
he called, the glory of presenting it, saying, he had 
killed the man as he was running away, and begging 
his excellency to accept the head, and consider it 
as a proof of the writers attachment to the crown. 
With the first successes of the court, the work of 
punishment began. The judge at Ischia said it 
was necessary to have a bishop to degrade the 
traitorous priests before he. could execute them : 
upon which Trowbridge advised him to hang them 
first, and send them to him afterwards, if he did 
not think that degradation sufficient. This was 
said with the straight-forward feeling of a sailor, 
who cared as little for canon-law as he knew about 
it: but when he discovered that the judge’s orders 
were to go through the business in a summary 
manner, under his sanction, he told him at once, that 
could not be, for the prisoners were not British sub¬ 
jects ; and he declined having anything to do with 
it. There were manifestly persons about the court, 
who, while they thirsted for the pleasure of ven¬ 
geance, were devising how to throw the odium of 
it upon the English. They wanted to employ an 
English man-of-war to carry the priests to Palermo 
for degradation, and then bring them back for exe¬ 
cution ; and they applied to Trowbridge for a hang¬ 
man, which he indignantly refused. He, mean¬ 
time, was almost heart-broken by the situation in 
which he found himself. He had promised relief 
to the islanders, relying upon the queen’s promise 
to him. He had distributed the whole of his pri- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1799.] 


193 


vate stock,—there was plenty of grain at Palermo, 
and in its neighbourhood, and yet none was sent 
him ; the enemy, he complained, had more interest 
there than the king; and the distress for bread, 
which he witnessed, was such, he said, that it would 
move even a Frenchman to pity. 

Nelson’s heart too was at this time ashore. “ To 
tell you,” he says, writing to Lady Hamilton, “ how 
dreary and uncomfortable the Vanguard appears, is 
only telling you what it is to go from the pleasantest 
society to a solitary cell; or from the dearest 
friends to no friends. I am now perfectly the great 
man ,—not a creature near me. From my heart I 
wish myself the little man again. You and good 
Sir William have spoiled me for any place, but 
with you.” 

Ilis mind was not in a happier state respect¬ 
ing public affairs. “ As to politics,” said he, 
“ at this time they are my abomination : the minis¬ 
ters of kings and princes are as great scoundrels as 
ever lived. The brother of the emperor is just 
going to marry the great Something of Russia, and 
it is more than expected that a kingdom is to be 
found for him in Italy, and that the King of Naples 
will be sacrificed.” Had there been a wise and 
manly spirit in the Italian states, or had the con¬ 
duct of Austria been directed by anything like a 
principle of honour, a more favourable opportunity 
could not have been desired for restoring order 
and prosperity in Europe, than the misconduct of 
the French directory at this time afforded. But 
Nelson perceived selfishness and knavery wherever 
he looked; and even the pleasure of seeing a cause 
prosper, in which he was so zealously engaged, 


LTFE OF NELSON. 


194 LTFE OF NELSON. [l799. 

was poisoned by his sense of the rascality of those 
with whom he was compelled to act. At this junc¬ 
ture intelligence arrived that the French fleet had 
escaped from Brest, under cover of a fog, passed 
Cadiz unseen by Lord Keith’s squadron, in hazy 
weather, and entered the Mediterranean. It was 
said to consist of twenty-four sail of the line, six 
frigates, and three sloops. The object of the French 
was to liberate the Spanish fleet, form a junction 
with them, act against Minorca and Sicily, and 
overpower our naval force in the Mediterranean, by 
falling in with detached squadrons, and thus de¬ 
stroying it in detail. When they arrived off Cartha- 
gena, they requested the Spanish ships to make sail 
and join ; but the Spaniards replied, they had not 
men to man them. To this it was answered, that 
the French had men enough on board for that pur¬ 
pose. But the Spaniards seem to have been appre¬ 
hensive of delivering up their ships thus entirely 
into the power of such allies, and refused to come 
out. The fleet from Cadiz, however, consisting of 
from seventeen to twenty sail of the line, got out, 
under Masaredo, a man who then bore an honour¬ 
able name, which he has since rendered infamous 
by betraying his country. They met with a violent 
storm off the coast of Oran, which dismasted many 
of their ships, and so effectually disabled them, as 
to prevent the junction, and frustrate a well-planned 
expedition. 

Before this occurred, and while the junction wa 3 
as probable as it would have been formidable, 
Nelson was in a state of the greatest anxiety. 
“ What a state am I in! ” said he to Earl St. 
Vincent. “ If I go I risk, and more than risk, 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1799.] 


195 


Sicily; for we know, from experience, that more 
depends upon opinion than upon acts themselves ; 
and as I stay my heart is breaking.” His first 
business was to summon Trowbridge to join him, 
with all the ships of the line under his command, 
and a frigate, if possible. Then hearing that the 
French had entered the Mediterranean, and expect¬ 
ing them at Palermo, where he had only his own 
ship ;—with that single ship he prepared to make 
all • the resistance possible. Trowbridge having 
joined him, he left Capt. E. J. Foote, of the Sea¬ 
horse, to command the smaller vessels in the bay 
of Naples, and sailed with six ships : one a Portu¬ 
guese, and a Portuguese corvette; telling Earl St. 
Vincent that the squadron should never fall into 
the hands of the enemy: “ And before we are 
destroyed,” said he, “ I have little doubt but they 
will have their wings so completely clipped, that 
they may be easily overtaken.” It was just at this 
time that he received from Capt. Hallowell the 
present of the coffin. Such a present was regarded 
by the men with natural astonishment:—one of his 
old shipmates in the Agamemnon said—“We shall 
have hot work of it indeed ! You see the admiral 
intends to fight till he is killed : and there he is to 

c5 . • • 

be buried.” Nelson placed it upright against the 
bulkhead of his cabin, behind his chair, where he 
sat at dinner. The gift suited him at this time. 
It is said that he was disappointed in the son-in- 
law, whom he had loved so dearly from his child¬ 
hood, and who had saved his life at Teneriffe: and 
it is certain that lie had now formed an infatuated 
attachment for Lady Hamilton, which totally weaned 
his affections from his wife. Farther than this, 

o 2 


196 LIFE OF NELSON. [l799. 

there is no reason to believe that this most unfor¬ 
tunate attachment was criminal: but this was cri¬ 
minality enough, and it brought with it its punish¬ 
ment. Nelson was dissatisfied with himself; and, 
therefore, w T eary of the world. This feeling he now 
frequently expressed. a There is no true happiness 
in this life,” said he, “ and in my present state I 
could quit it with a smile.” And in a letter to his 
old friend Davison he said : u Believe me, my only 
wish is to sink with honour into the grave; and 
w T hen that shall please God, I shall meet death 
with a smile. Not that I am insensible to the 
honours and riches my king and country have 
heaped upon me,—so much more than any officer 
could deserve; yet am I ready to quit this world 
of trouble, and envy none but those of the estate 
six feet by two.” 

Well had it been for Nelson if he had made no 
other sacrifices to this unhappy attachment than 
his peace of mind ; but it led to the only blot upon 
his public character. While he sailed from Pa¬ 
lermo, with the intention of collecting his whole 
force, and keeping off Maretimo, either to receive 
reinforcements there, if the French were bound 
upwards, or to hasten to Minorca, if that should 
be their destination, Capt. Foote, in the Sea¬ 
horse, with the Neapolitan frigates, and some small 
vessels, under his command, was left to act with 
a land force consisting of a few regular troops, of 
four different nations, and with the armed rabble 
which Cardinal Ruffo called the Christian army. 
His directions were to co-operate to the utmost of 
his power with the royalists, at whose head Ruffo 
had been placed, and he had no other instructions 


1799 ] LIFE OF KELSON. 197 

whatever. Ruffo advancing, without any plan, 
but relying upon the enemy’s want of numbers, 
which prevented them from attempting to act upon 
the offensive, and ready to take advantage of any 
accident which might occur, approached Naples. 
Fort St. Elmo, which commands the town, was 
wholly garrisoned by the French troops ; the castles 
of Uovo and Nuovo, which commanded the an¬ 
chorage, were chiefly defended by Neapolitan revo¬ 
lutionists, the powerful men among them having 
taken shelter there. If these castles were taken, 
the reduction of Fort St. Elmo would be greatly 
expedited. They were strong places, and there 
was reason to apprehend that the French fleet 
might arrive to relieve them. Ruffo proposed to 
the garrison to capitulate, on condition that their 
persons and property should be guaranteed, and 
that they should, at their own option, either be 
sent to Toulon, or remain at Naples, without being 
molested either in their persons or families. This 
capitulation was accepted: it was signed by the 
cardinal, and the Russian and Turkish commanders; 
and, lastly, by Capt. Foote, as commander of the 
British force. About six-and-thirty hours after¬ 
wards, Nelson arrived in the bay, with a force 
which had joined him during his cruise, consisting 
of seventeen sail of the line, with seventeen hun¬ 
dred troops on board, and the prince royal of 
Naples in the admiral’s ship. A flag of truce was 
flying on the castles, and on board the Seahorse. 
Nelson made a signal to annul the treaty; de¬ 
claring that he would grant rebels no other terms 
than those of unconditional submission. The car¬ 
dinal objected to this : nor could all the arguments 


198 LIFE OF NELSON. [l799- 

of Nelson, Sir W. Hamilton, and Lady Hamilton, 
who took an active part in the conference, con¬ 
vince him that a treaty of such a nature, solemnly 
concluded, could honourably be set aside. He 
retired at last, silenced by Nelson’s authority, but 
not convinced. Capt. Foote was sent out of the 
bay; and the garrisons, taken out of the castles, 
under pretence of carrying the treaty into effect, 
were delivered over as rebels to the vengeance of 
the Sicilian court. — A deplorable transaction! a 
stain upon the memory of Nelson, and the honour 
of England! To palliate it would be in vain ; to 
justify it would be wicked ; there is no alternative, 
for one who will not make himself a participator in 
guilt, but to record the disgraceful story* with sor¬ 
row and with shame. 

Prince Francesco Oaraccioli, a younger branch 
of one of the noblest Neapolitan families, escaped 
from one of these castles before it capitulated. He 
was at the head of the marine, and was nearly 

' V 

seventy years of age, bearing a high character, 
both for professional and personal merit. He had 
accompanied the court to Sicily ; but when the re¬ 
volutionary government, or Parthenopsean Repub¬ 
lic, as it was called, issued an edict, ordering all 
absent Neapolitans to return, on pain of confisca¬ 
tion of their property, he solicited and obtained 
permission of the king to return, his estates being 
very great. It is said that the king, when he 
granted him this permission, warned him not to 

* In one of his letters to Lady Hamilton, written a few months 
before this fatal transaction, Nelson sav3, speaking of the queen, 
“ I declare to God, my whole study is how to best meet her 
approbation.” 



1799.J life of nelson. 199 

take any part in politics; expressing at the same 
time, his own persuasion that lie should recover his 
kingdom. But neither the king, nor he himself, 
ought to have imagined that, in such times, a man 
of such reputation would be permitted to remain 
inactive; and it soon appeared that Caraccioli was 
again in command of the navy, and serving under 
the republic against his late sovereign. The sailors 
reported that he was forced to act thus : and this 
was believed, till it was seen that he directed ablv 
the offensive operations of the revolutionists, and 
did not avail himself of opportunities for escaping, 
when they offered. When the recovery of Naples 
was evidently near, he applied to Cardinal Buffo, 
and to the Duke of Calvirrano, for protection ; ex¬ 
pressing his hope, that the few days during which 
he had been forced to obey the French would not 
outweigh forty years of faithful services : — but, 
perhaps not receiving such assurances as he wished, 
and knowing too well the temper of the Sicilian 
court, he endeavoured to secrete himself, and a 
price was set upon his head. More unfortunately 
for others than for himself, he was brought in alive, 
having been discovered in the disguise of a peasant, 
and carried one morning on board Lord Nelson’s 
ship, with his hands tied behind him. 

Caraccioli was well known to the British officers, 
and had been ever highly esteemed by all who 
knew him. Capt. Hardy ordered him immediately 
to be unbound, and to be treated with all those 
attentions which he felt due to a man who, w T hen 
last on board the Foudroyant, had been received 
as an admiral and a prince. Sir William and 
Lady Hamilton were in the ship ; but Nelson, it is 


200 LIFE OF NELSON. [T/99. 

affirmed, saw no one except his own officers, dur¬ 
ing the tragedy which ensued. Ilis own determi¬ 
nation was made; and he issued an order to the 
Neapolitan commodore, Count Thurn, to assemble 
a court-martial of Neapolitan officers, on board the 
British flag-ship, proceed immediately to try the 
prisoner, and report to him, if the charges were 
proved, what punishment he ought to suffer. These 
proceedings were as rapid as possible; Caraccioli 
was brought on board at nine in the forenoon, and 
the trial began at ten. It lasted two hours: he 
averred in his defence, that he had acted under 
compulsion, having been compelled to serve as a 
common soldier, till he consented to take com¬ 
mand of the fleet. This, the apologists of Lord 
Nelson say, he failed in proving. They forget 
that the possibility of proving it was not allowed 
him; for he was brought to trial within an hour 
after he was legally in arrest ; and how, in that 
time, was he to collect his witnesses ? He was 
found guilty, and sentenced to death; and Nelson 
gave orders that the sentence should be carried 
into effect that evening, at five o’clock, on board 
the Sicilian frigate, La Minerva, by hanging him 
at the fore-yard-arm till sunset; when the body 
was to be cut down and thrown into the sea. 
Caraccioli requested Lieutenant Parkinson, under 
whose custody he was placed, to intercede with 
Lord Nelson for a second trial,—for this, among 
other reasons, that Count Thurn, who presided at 
the court-martial, was notoriously his personal 
enemy. Nelson made answer, that the prisoner 
had been fairly tried by the officers of his own 
country, and he could not interfere: forgetting 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1799-] LIFE OF NELSON. 201 

that, if lie felt himself justified in ordering the trial 
and the execution, no human being could ever have 
questioned the propriety of his interfering on the 
side of mercy. Caraccioli then entreated that he 
might be shot.—“ I am an old man, sir,” said lie : 
“1 leave no family to lament me, and therefore 
cannot be supposed to be very anxious about pro¬ 
longing my life : but the disgrace of being hanged 
is dreadful to me.” When this was repeated to Nel¬ 
son, he only told the lieutenant, with much agita¬ 
tion, to go and attend his duty. As a last hope, 
Caraccioli asked the lieutenant, if he thought an 
application to Lady Hamilton would be beneficial ? 
Parkinson went to seek her: she was not to be 
seen on this occasion—but she was present at 
the execution. She had the most devoted attach¬ 
ment to the Neapolitan court ; and the hatred 
which she felt against those whom she regarded as 
its enemies, made her at this time forget what was 
due to the character of her sex as well as of her 
country. Here also, a faithful historian is called 
upon to pronounce a severe and unqualified con¬ 
demnation of Nelson's conduct. Had he the author 
rity of his Sicilian majesty for proceeding as he 
did? If so, why was not that authority produced t 
If not, why were the proceedings hurried on 
without it ? Why was the trial precipitated, so 
that it was impossible for the prisoner, if lie had 
been innocent, to provide the witnesses, who might 
have proved him so ? Why was a second trial 
refused, when the known animosity of the pre¬ 
sident of the court against the prisoner was con¬ 
sidered ? Why was the execution hastened, so 
as to preclude any appeal for mercy, and render 


202 LIFE OF NELSON. [l79'J. 

the prerogative of mercy useless ?—Doubtless, the 
British Admiral seemed to himself to be acting 
under a rigid sense of justice; but, to all other 
persons, it was obvious that lie was influenced 
by an infatuated attachment—a baneful passion, 
which destroyed his domestic happiness, and now, 
in a second instance, stained ineffaceably his public 
character. 

The body was carried out to a considerable dis¬ 
tance, and sunk in the bay, with three double¬ 
headed shot, weighing two hundred and fifty 
pounds, tied to its legs. Between two and three 
weeks afterward, when the king was on board the 
Foudroyant, a Neapolitan fisherman came to the 
ship, and solemnly declared that Caraccioli had 
risen from the bottom of the sea, and was coming, 
as fast as he could, to Naples, swimming half out 
of the water. Such an account was listened to like 
a tale of idle credulity. The day being fair, Nel¬ 
son, to please the king, stood out to sea ; but the 
ship had not proceeded far before a body was 
distinctly seen, upright in the water, and approach¬ 
ing them. It was soon recognised to be, indeed, 
the corpse of Caraccioli, which had risen, and 
floated, while the great weights attached to the 
legs kept the body in a position like that of a living 
man. A fact so extraordinary astonished the king, 
and perhaps excited some feeling of superstitious 
fear, akin to regret. He gave permission for the 
body to be taken on shore, and receive Christian 
burial. It produced no better effect. Naples ex¬ 
hibited more dreadful scenes than it had witnessed 
in the days of Massaniello. After the mob had 
had their fill of blood and plunder, the reins were 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


203 


1799.] 

given to justice—if that can be called justice which 
annuls its own stipulations, looks to the naked facts 
alone, disregarding all motives and all circum¬ 
stances ; and without considering character or 
science, or sex, or youth, sacrifices its victims, not 
for the public weal, but for the gratification of 
greedy vengeance. 

The castles of St. Elmo, Gaieta, and Capua, re¬ 
mained to be subdued. On the land side there was 
no danger that the French in these garrisons should 
be relieved, for Suvarof was now beginning to 
drive the enemy before him ; but Nelson thought 
his presence necessary in the bay of Naples: and 
when Lord Keith, having received intelligence that 
the French and Spanish fleets had formed a junction, 
and sailed for Carthagena, ordered him to repair to 
Minorca, with the whole or the greater part of his 
force, he sent Admiral Duckworth with a small part 
only. This was a dilemma which he had foreseen. 
“ Should such an order come at this moment,” he 
said, in a letter previously written to the admiralty, 
“ it would be a case for some consideration, whether 
Minorca is to be risked, or the two kingdoms of 
Naples and Sicily: I rather think my decision 
would be to risk the former.” And, after he had 
acted upon this opinion, he wrote in these terms to 
the Duke of Clarence, with whose high notions of 
obedience he was well acquainted :—“ I am well 
aware of the consequences of disobeying my orders; 
but as I have often before risked my life for the 
good cause, so I, with cheerfulness, did my commis¬ 
sion : for, although a military tribunal may think 
me criminal, the world will approve of my conduct : 
and I regard not my own safety, when the honour 
of my king is at stake.” 

V O 


204 LIFE OF NELSON. [ i T99. 

Nelson was right in his judgment: no attempt 
was made upon Minorca: and the expulsion of the 
French from Naples may rather be said to have 
been effected, than accelerated, by the English and 
Portuguese of the allied fleet, acting upon shore, 
under Trowbridge. The French commandant at 

o 

St. Elmo, relying upon the strength of the place, 
and the nature of the force which attacked it, had 
insulted Capt. Foote in the grossest terms; but 
citoyen Mejan was soon taught better manners, 
when Trowbridge, in spite of every obstacle, opened 
five batteries upon the fort. He was informed, 
that none of his letters, with the insolent printed 
words at the top, Liherte , Egalite , Guerre aux 
Tyrans , &c. would be received : but that, if he 
wrote like a soldier and a gentleman, he should be 
answered in the same style. The Frenchman then 
began to flatter his antagonist upon the bienfaisance 
and humanite , which, he said, w T cre the least of the 
many virtues which distinguished Monsieur Trow¬ 
bridge. Monsieur Trowbridge's bienfaisance was, 
at this time, thinking of mining the fort.—“If we 
can accomplish that,” said he, “ I am a strong 
advocate to send them, hostages and all, to Old 
Nick, and surprise him with a group of nobility 
and republicans. Meantime,” he added, “ it was 
some satisfaction to perceive that the shells fell 
well, and broke some, of their shins.” Finally, to 
complete his character, Mejan offered to surrender 
for 150,000 ducats. Great Britain, perhaps, has 
made but too little use of this kind of artillery, 
which France has found so effectual towards sub¬ 
jugating the continent : but Trowbridge had the 
prey within his reach; and, in the course of a few 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1799- j LIFE OF NELSON. 205 

days, his last battery, “ after much trouble and 
palaver,” as he said, “ brought the vagabonds to 
their senses.” 

Trowbridge had more difficulties to overcome in 
this siege, from the character of the Neapolitans 
who pretended to assist him, and whom he made 
useful, than even from the strength of the place 
and the skill of the French. “ Such damned cow¬ 
ards and villains,” he declared, “ he had never seen 
before.” The men at the advanced posts carried on, 
what he called, “a diabolical good understanding” 
with the enemy, and the workmen would sometimes 
take fright and run away. “ I make the best I 
can,” said he, “ of the degenerate race I have to 
deal with ; the whole means of guns, ammunition, 
pioneers, &c., with all materials, rest with them. 
With fair promises to the men, and threats of instant 
death if I find any one erring, a little spur has been 
given.” Nelson said of him, with truth, upon this 
occasion, that he was a first-rate general. “ I find, 
sir,” said he afterwards in a letter to the Duke of 
Clarence, “ that General Koehler does not approve 
of such irregular proceedings, as naval officers at¬ 
tacking and defending fortifications. We have but 
one idea,—to get close alongside. None but a 
sailor would have placed a battery only one hun¬ 
dred and eighty yards from the castle of St. Elmo ; 
a soldier must have gone according to art, and the 
\.-vvv\way. My brave Trowbridge went straight 
on, for we had no time to spare.” 

Trowbridge then proceeded to Capua, and took 
the command of the motley besieging force. One 
thousand of the best men in the fleet were sent to 
assist in the siege. Just at this time Nelson re- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


206 LIFE OF NELSON. f 1799. 

ceivecl a peremptory order from Lord Keith, to sail 
with the whole of his force for the protection of 
Minorca ; or, at least, to retain no more than was 
absolutely necessary at Sicily. “ You will easily 
conceive my feelings,” said he, in communicating 
this to Earl St. Vincent: “ but my mind, as your 
lordship knows, was perfectly prepared for this 
order ; and it is now, more than ever, made up. 
At this moment I will not part with a single ship ; 
as I cannot do that without drawing a hundred 
and twenty men from each ship, now at the siege 
of Capua. I am fully aware of the act I have com¬ 
mitted ; but I am prepared for any fate which may 
await my disobedience. Capua and Gaieta will 
soon fell; and the moment the scoundrels of French 
are out of this kingdom I shall send eight or nine 
ships of the line to Minorca. I have done w T hat I 
thought right: others may think differently: but 
it will be my consolation that I have gained a king¬ 
dom, seated a faithful ally of his majesty firmly on 
his throne, and restored happiness to millions.” 

At Capua, Trowbridge had the same difficulties 
as at St. Elmo ; and being farther from Naples, 
and from the fleet, was less able to overcome them. 
The powder was so bad that he suspected treachery : 
and when he asked Nelson to spare him forty casks 
from the ships, he told him it would be necessary 
that some Englishmen should accompany it, or 
they would steal one half, and change the other. 
“ All the men you see,” said he, “ gentle and sim¬ 
ple, are such notorious villains, that it is misery to 
be with them.” Capua, however, soon fell, Gaieta 
immediately afterwards surrendered to Capt. Louis 
of the Minotaur. Here the commanding officer 


LIFE OF NELSON. * 


1799-] LIFE OF NELSON. * 207 

acted more unlike a Frenchman, Captain Louis said, 
than any one he had ever met; meaning that he 
acted like a man of honour. He required, how¬ 
ever, that the garrison should carry away their 
horses, and other pillaged property : to which Nel¬ 
son replied, “ That no property which they did not 
bring with them into the country could be theirs ; 
and that the greatest care should be taken to pre¬ 
vent them from carrying it away.”— u I am sorry,” 
said he to Captain Louis, u that you have entered 
into any altercation. There is no way of dealing with 
a Frenchman but to knock him down ; to be civil 
to them is only to be laughed at, when they are 


enemies. 

The whole kingdom of Naples was thus delivered 
by Nelson from the French. The admiralty, how¬ 
ever, thought it expedient to censure him for dis¬ 
obeying Lord Keith’s orders, and thus hazarding 
Minorca, without, as it appeared to them, any 
sufficient reason ; and also from having landed 
seamen for the siege of Capua, to form part of an 
army employed in operations at a distance from 
the coast: where, in case of defeat, they might 
have been prevented from returning to their ships ; 
and they enjoined him, “ not to employ the seamen 
in like manner in future.” This reprimand was 
issued before the event was known ; though, indeed, 
the event wmild not effect the principle upon which 
it proceeded. When Nelson communicated the 
tidings of his complete success, he said, in his pub¬ 
lic letter, u that it would not be the less acceptable 
for having been principally brought about by British 
sailors.” His judgment in thus employing them 
had been justified by the result : and his joy was 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


203 


[1799 


evidently heightened by the gratification of a profes¬ 
sional and becoming pride. To the first lord he said, 
at the same time, “ I certainly, from having only a 
left hand, cannot enter into details which may explain 
the motives that actuated my conduct. My prin¬ 
ciple is, to assist in driving the French to the devil, 
and in restoring peace and happiness to mankind. I 
feel that I am fitter to do the action than to describe 
it.” He then added, that he would take care of 
Minorca. 

In expelling the French from Naples, Nelson 
had, with characteristic zeal and ability, discharged 
his duty ; but he deceived himself when he imagined 
that he had seated Ferdinand firmly on his throrne, 
and that he had restored happiness to millions. 
These objects might have been accomplished if 
it had been possible to inspire virtue and wisdom 
into a vicious and infatuated court ; and if Nelson’s 
eyes had not been, as it were, spell-bound by 
that unhappy attachment, which had now com¬ 
pletely mastered him, he would have seen things 
as they were ; and might, perhaps, have awakened 
the Sicilian court to a sense of their interest, 
if not of their duty. That court employed itself 
in a miserable round of folly and festivity, while 
the prisons of Naples were filled with groans, and 
the scaffolds streamed with blood. St. Januarius 
was solemnly removed from his rank as patron 
saint of the kingdom, * having been convicted of 
Jacobinism ; and St. Antonio as solemnly installed 
in his place. The king, instead of re-establishing 
order at Naples by his presence, speedily returned 
to Palermo, to indulge in his favourite amuse¬ 
ments. Nelson, and the ambassador’s family, ac - 


1799.] LIFE OF NELSON. 209 

companied the court; and Trowbridge remained, 
groaning over the villany and frivolity of those 
with whom he was compelled to deal. A party of 
officers applied to him for a passage to Palermo, 
to see the procession of St. Rosalia:—he recom¬ 
mended them to exercise their troops, and not be¬ 
have like children. It was grief enough for him 
that the court should be busied in these follies, 
and Nelson involved in them. “ I dread, my 
lord,” said he, “all the feasting, &c. at Palermo. 
I am sure your health will be hurt. If so, all their 
saints will be damned by the navy. The king 
would be better employed digesting a good govern¬ 
ment : everything gives way to their pleasures. 
The money spent at Palermo gives discontent here : 
fifty thousand people are unemployed, trade dis¬ 
couraged, manufactures at a stand. It is the in¬ 
terest of many here to keep the king away;—they 
all dread reform:—their villanies are so deeply 
rooted, that if some method is not taken to dig 
them out, this government cannot hold together. 
Out of twenty millions of ducats, collected as the 
revenue, only thirteen millions reach the treasury; 
and the king pays four ducats where he should pay 
one. He is surrounded by thieves ; and none of 
them have honour or honesty enough to tell him 
the real and true state of things.” In another 
letter he expressed his sense of the miserable state 
of Naples. “ There are upwards of forty thousand 
families,” said he, “who have relations confined. If 
some act of oblivion is not passed, there will be no 
end of persecution ; for the people of this country 
have no idea of anything but revenge, and to gain a 
point would swear ten thousand false oaths. Con- 

p 


210 LIFE OF NELSON. []l799. 

stant efforts are made to get a man taken up, in 
order to rob him. The confiscated property does 
not reach the king’s treasury.—All thieves! It is 
selling for nothing. Iiis own people, whom he 
employs, are buying it up, and the vagabonds 
pocket the whole. I should not be surprised to 
hear that they brought a bill of expenses against 
him for the sale.” 

The Sicilian court, however, were at this time 
duly sensible of the services which had been ren¬ 
dered them by the British fleet, and their gratitude 
to Nelson was shown with proper and princely 
munificence. They gave him the dukedom and 
domain of Bronte, worth about £3000 a year. It 
was some days before he could be persuaded to 
accept it: the argument which finally prevailed is 
said to have been suggested by the queen, and 
urged, at her request, by Lady Hamilton upon her 
knees. 44 He considered his own honour too 
much,” she said, 44 if he persisted in refusing what 
the king and queen felt to be absolutely neces¬ 
sary for the preservation of theirs.” The king 
himself, also, is said to have addressed him in 
words, which show that the sense of rank will 
sometimes confer a virtue upon those who seem to 
be most unworthy of the lot to which they have 
been born: 44 Lord Nelson, do you wish that your 
name alone should pass with honour to posterity; 
and that I, Ferdinand Bourbon, should appear un¬ 
grateful ?” He gave him also, wdien the dukedom 
was accepted, a diamond-hilted sword, which his 
father, Charles III. of Spain, had given him on 
his accession to the throne of the two Sicilies. 
.Nelson said, 44 The reward was magnificent, and 


1799. J LIFE OF NELSON. 211 

worthy of a king, and he was determined that the 
inhabitants on the domain should be the happiest 
in all his Sicilian majesty’s dominions.—Yet,” said 
he, speaking of these and the other remunerations 
which were made him for his services, 44 these pre¬ 
sents, rich as they are, do not elevate me. My 
pride is, that, at Constantinople, from the grand 
seignior to the lowest Turk, the name of Nelson is 
familiar in their mouths; and in this country I am 
everything which a grateful monarch and people 
can call me.” Nelson, however, had a pardonable 
pride in the outward and visible signs of hofiour, 
which he had so fairly won. He was fond of his 
Sicilian title; the signification, perhaps, pleased 
him :—Duke of Thunder was what in Dahomv 

J J 

would be called a strong name ; it was to a sailors 
taste; and certainly, to no man could it ever be 
more applicable. But a simple offering, which he 
received not long afterwards, from the island of 
Zante, affected him with a deeper and finer feeling. 
The Greeks of that little community sent him a 
golden-headed sw T ord and a truncheon, set round 
with all the diamonds that the island could furnish, 
in a single row. They thanked him 44 for having, 
by his victory, preserved that part of Greece from 
the horrors of anarchy ; and prayed that his ex¬ 
ploits might accelerate the day, in which, amidst 
the glory and peace of thrones, the miseries of the 
human race would cease.” This unexpected tribute 
touched Nelson to the heart. 44 No officer,” he said, 
44 had ever received from any country a higher 
acknowledgment of his services.” 

The French still occupied the Roman states; 
from which, according to their own admission, they 

p 2 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


212 LIFE OF NELSON. [l 799. 

had extorted in jewels, plate, specie, and requi¬ 
sitions of every kind, to the enormous amount of 
eight millions sterling: yet they affected to ap¬ 
pear as deliverers among the people whom they 
were thus cruelly plundering ; and they distributed 
portraits of Buonaparte, with the blasphemous in¬ 
scription—“ This is the true likeness of the holy 
saviour of the world !” The people, detesting the 
impiety, and groaning beneath the exactions, of 
these perfidious robbers, were ready to join any 
regular force that should come to their assistance ; 
but they dreaded Cardinal Ruffe s rabble, and de¬ 
clared they would resist him as a banditti, who came 
only for the purpose of pillage. Nelson perceived 
that no object was now so essential for the tranquil¬ 
lity of Naples as the recovery of Rome; which in 
the present state of things, when Suvarof was driving 
the French before him, would complete the deliver¬ 
ance of Italy. He applied, therefore, to Sir James 
St. Clair Erskine, who in the absence of General 
Fox commanded at Minorca, to assist in this great 
object with twelve hundred men. “ The field of 
glory,” said he, “ is a large one, and was never 
more open to any one than at this moment to you. 
Rome would throw open her gates and receive you 
as her deliverer ; and the pope would owe his re¬ 
storation to a heretic.” But Sir James Erskine 
looked only at the difficulties of the undertaking. 
“ Twelve hundred men, he thought, would be too 
small a force to be committed in such an enterprise; 
for Civita Yecchia was a regular fortress; the 
local situation and climate also were such, that 
even if this force were adequate, it would be pro¬ 
per to delay the expedition till October. General 


1799-j LIFE OF NELSON. 213 

Fox, too, was soon expected; and during his ab¬ 
sence, and under existing circumstances, he did 
not feel justified in sending away such a detach¬ 
ment.” 

What this general thought it imprudent to at¬ 
tempt, Nelson and Trowbridge effected without his 
assistance, by a small detachment from the fleet. 
Trowbridge first sent Capt. Hallowell to Civita 
Vecchia, to offer the garrison there, and at Castle 
St. Angelo, the same terms which had been granted 
to Gaieta. Hallowell perceived, by the overstrained 
civility of the officers who came off to him, and 
the compliments which they paid to the English 
nation, that they were sensible of their own weak¬ 
ness, and their inability to offer any effectual re¬ 
sistance; but the French know, that while they are 
in a condition to serve their government, they can 
rely upon it for every possible exertion in their sup¬ 
port ; and this reliance gives them hope and confi¬ 
dence to the last. Upon Hallowed’s report, Trow¬ 
bridge, who had now been made Sir Thomas for 
his services, sent Capt. Louis, with a squadron, to 
enforce the terms which he had offered ; and, as 
soon as he could leave Naples, he himself followed. 
The French, who had no longer any hope from the 
fate of arms, relied upon their skill in negotiation, 
and proposed terms to Trowbridge with that effron ¬ 
tery which characterises their public proceedings ; 
but which is as often successful as it is impudent. 
They had a man of the right stamp to deal with. 
Their ambassador at Rome began by saying, that 
the Roman territory was the property of the French 
by right of conquest. The British commodore 
settled that point, by replying, “It is mine by re- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


214 


[1799. 


conquest.” A capitulation was soon concluded for 
all the Roman states, and Capt. Louis rowed up the 
Tiber in his barge, hoisted English colours on the 
capitol, and acted, for the time, as governor of 
Rome. The prophecy of the Irish poet was thus 
accomplished, and the friar reaped the fruits : for 
Nelson, who was struck with the oddity of the cir¬ 
cumstance, and not a little pleased with it, obtained 
preferment for him from the King of Sicily, and 
recommended him to the pope. 

Having thus completed his work upon the con¬ 
tinent of Italy, Nelson’s whole attention was di¬ 
rected towards Malta; where Capt. Ball, with most 
inadequate means, was besieging the French gar¬ 
rison. Never was any officer engaged in a more 
anxious and painful service : the smallest reinforce¬ 
ment from France would, at any moment, have 
turned the scale against him : and had it not been 
for his consummate ability, and the love and vene¬ 
ration with which the Maltese regarded him, Malta 
must have remained in the hands of the enemy. 
Men, money, food ; all'’things were want ing. The 
garrison consisted of five thousand troops :— the 
besieging force of five hundred English and Portu¬ 
guese marines, and about fifteen hundred armed 
peasants. Long and repeatedly did Nelson solicit 
troops to effect the reduction of this important 
place. “ It has been no fault of the navy,” said 
he, “ that Malta has not been attacked by land : 
but we have neither the means ourselves, nor in¬ 
fluence with those who have.” The same causes 
of demurral existed which prevented British troops 
from assisting in the expulsion of the French from 
Rome. Sir James Erskine was expecting General 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1799.] 


215 


Fox, he could not act without orders; and not 
having, like Nelson, that lively spring of hope 
within him, which partakes enough of the nature 
of faith to work miracles in war, he thought it 
“ evident that unless a respectable land force, in 
numbers sufficient to undertake the siege of such a 
garrison, in one of the strongest places of Europe, 
and supplied with proportionate artillery and stores, 
were sent against it, no reasonable hope could be 
entertained of its surrender.”—Nelson groaned over 
the spirit of over-reasoning caution, and unreason¬ 
ing obedience. “ My heart,” said he, “ is almost 
broken. If the enemy gets supplies in, we may ' 
bid adieu to Malta:—all the force we can collect 
would then be of little use against the strongest 
place in Europe.—To say that an officer is never, 
for any object, to alter his orders, is what I cannot 
comprehend. The circumstances of this war so 
often vary, that an officer has almost every moment 
to consider, what would my superiors direct, did 
they know what is passing under my nose ? But, 
sir,” said he, writing to the Duke of Clarence, “ I 
find few think as I do. To obey orders is all per¬ 
fection. To serve my king, and to destroy the 
French, I consider as the great order of all, from 
which little ones spring: and if one of these mili¬ 
tate against it (for who can tell exactly at a dis¬ 
tance ?) I go back, and obey the great order and 
object, to down,—down with the damned French 
villains!—My blood boils at the name of French¬ 
man !” 

At length, General Fox arrived at Minorca,— 
and, at length, permitted Colonel Graham to go to 
Malta, but with means miserably limited. In fact, 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


216 


[ 1799 . 


the expedition was at a stand for want of money ; 
when Trowbridge, arriving at Messina, to co-operate 
in it, and finding this fresh delay, immediately 
offered all that he could command of his own. “ I 
procured him, my lord,” said he to Nelson, “ fifteen 
thousand of my cobs :—every farthing and every 
atom of me shall be devoted to the cause.”— 
“ What can this mean ?” said Nelson, when he 
learned that Colonel Graham was ordered not to incur 
any expense for stores, or any articles except pro¬ 
visions !—“ the cause cannot stand still for want 
of a little money. If nobody will pay it, I will sell 
Bronte, and the Emperor of Russia’s box.” And 
he actually pledged Bronte for £6600 if there 
should be any difficulty about paying the bills. 
The long-delayed expedition was thus, at last, sent 
forth : but Trowbridge little imagined in what scenes 
of misery lie was to bear his part. He looked to 
Sicily for supplies: it was the interest, as well as 
the duty, of the Sicilian government to use every 
exertion for furnishing them : and Nelson and the 
British ambassador were on the spot to press upon 
them the necessity of exertion. But, though Nel¬ 
son saw with what a knavish crew the Sicilian 
court was surrounded, he was blind to the vices of 
the court itself; and resigning himself wholly to 
Lady Hamilton’s influence, never even suspected the 
crooked policy which it was remorselessly pur¬ 
suing. The Maltese and the British in Malta 
severely felt it. Trowbridge, who had the truest 
affection for Nelson, knew his infatuation, and 
feared that it might prove injurious to his cha¬ 
racter, as well as fatal to an enterprise which had 
begun so well, and been carried on so patiently. 


1800.]] LIFE OF NELSON. 21/ 

44 My lord/* said he, writing to him from the 
siege, 44 we are dying off fast for want. I learn 
that Sir William Hamilton says Prince Luzzi r(>- 
fused corn some time ago, and Sir William does 
not think it worth while making another appli¬ 
cation. If that be the case, I wish he commanded 
this distressing scene instead of me. Puglia had 
an immense harvest; near thirty sail left Messina, 
before I did, to load corn. Will they let us have 
any ? if not, a short time will decide the business. 
The German interest prevails. I wish I was at 
your lordship’s elbow for an hour.— All , all will 
be thrown on you !—I will parry the blow as much 
as in my powder: I foresee much mischief brewing. 
—God bless your lordship; I am miserable I 
cannot assist your operations more. Many happy 
returns of the day to you—(it was the first of the 
new year)—I never spent so miserable a one. I 
am not very tender-hearted; but really the dis¬ 
tress here would even move a Neapolitan.” Soon 
afterwards he wrote: 44 1 have this day saved 

thirty thousand people from starving; but with 
this day my ability ceases. As the government 
are bent on starving us, I see no alternative, but 
to leave these poor unhappy people to perish, with¬ 
out our being witnesses of their distress. I curse 
the day I ever served the Neapolitan government.. 
—We have characters, my lord, to lose; these 
people have none. Do not suffer their infamous 
conduct to fall on us. Our country is just, but 
severe. Such is the fever of my brain this minute, 
that I assure you, on my honour, if the Palermo 
traitors were here, I would shoot them first, and 
then myself. Girgenti is full of corn; the money 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


ns 


[1800 


is ready to pay for it; we do not ask it as a gift. 
Oh ! could you see the horrid distress I daily ex¬ 
perience, something would be done. Some engine is 
at work against us at Naples; and I believe I hit 
on the proper person. If you complain, he will 
be immediately promoted, agreeably to the Neapo¬ 
litan custom. All I write to you is known at the 
queen’s.—For my own part, I look upon the Nea¬ 
politans as the worst of intriguing enemies; every 
hour shows me their infamy and duplicity. I 
pray your lordship be cautious ; your honest, open 
manner of acting will be made a handle of. When 
I see you, and tell of their infamous tricks, you 
will be as much surprised as I am. The whole will 
fall on you.” 

Nelson was not, and could not be, insensible to 
the distress which his friend so earnestly repre¬ 
sented. He begged, almost on his knees, he said, 
small supplies of money and corn, to keep the Mal¬ 
tese from starving. And when the court granted 
a small supply, protesting their poverty, he be¬ 
lieved their protestations, and was satisfied with 
their professions, instead of insisting that the re¬ 
strictions upon the exportation of corn should be 
withdrawn. The anxiety, however, which he en¬ 
dured, affected him so deeply that he said it had 
broken his spirit for ever. Happily all that Trow¬ 
bridge, with so much reason, foreboded, did not 
come to pass. For Captain Ball, with more deci¬ 
sion than Nelson himself would have shown at that 
time, and upon that occasion, ventured upon a re¬ 
solute measure, for which his name would deserve 
always to be held in veneration by the Maltese, 
even if it had no other claims to the love and re- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1800.] LIFE OF NELSON. 219 

verence of a grateful people. Finding it hopeless 
longer to look for succour, or common humanity, 
from the deceitful and infatuated court of Sicily, 
which persisted in prohibiting, by sanguinary edicts, 
the exportation of supplies, at his own risk he 
sent his first lieutenant to the port of Girgenti, 
with orders to seize and bring with him to Malta 
the ships which were there lying laden with corn ; 
of the number of which he had received accurate 
information. These orders were executed to the 
great delight and advantage of the ship-owners 
and proprietors; the necessity of raising the siege 
was removed, and Captain Ball waited, in calmness, 
for the consequences to himself. The Neapolitan 
government complained to the English ambassador, 
and the complaint was communicated to Nelson, 
who, in return, requested Sir William Hamilton 
would fully and plainly state that the act ought 
not to be considered as any intended disrespect to 
his Sicilian Majesty, but as of the most absolute and 
imperious necessity; the alternative being either 
of abandoning Malta to the French, or of antici¬ 
pating the king’s orders for carrying the corn in 
those vessels to Malta. 44 I trust,” he added, 44 that 
the government of the country will never again 
force any of our royal master’s servants to so un¬ 
pleasant an alternative.” Thus ended the com¬ 
plaint of the Neapolitan court. “The sole result 
was,” says Mr. Coleridge, 44 that the governor of 
Malta became an especial object of its hatred, its 
fear, and its respect.” 

Nelson himself, at the beginning of February, 
sailed for that island. On the way he fell in with 
a French squadron bound for its relief, and consist- 


220 LIFE OF NELSON. [TSCO 

ing of the Gtinereux seventy-four, three frigates, and 
a corvette. One of these frigates and the line-of- 
battle ship were taken: the others escaped, but 
failed in their purpose of reaching La Yalette. This 
success was peculiarly gratifying to Nelson, for 
many reasons. During some months he had acted 
as commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, while 
Lord Keith was in England. Lord Keith was 
now returned ; and Nelson had, upon his own plan, 
and at his own risk, left him, to sail for Malta,— 
“ for which,” said he, “ if I had not succeeded, I 
might have been broke :—and, if I had not acted 
thus, the Genereux never would have been taken.” 
This ship was one of those which had escaped from 
Aboukir. Two frigates, and the Guillaume Tell, 
eighty-six, were all that now remained of the fleet 
which Buonaparte had conducted to Egypt. The 
Guillaume Tell was at this time closely watched 
in the harbour of La Yalette : and shortly after¬ 
wards, attempting to make her escape from thence, 
was taken after an action, in which greater skill 
was never displayed by British ships, nor greater 
gallantry by an enemy. She was taken by the 
Foudroyant, Lion, and Penelope frigates. Nelson, 
rejoicing at what he called this glorious finish to 
the whole French Mediterranean fleet, rejoiced also 
that he was not present to have taken a sprig of 
these brave men’s laurels “ They are,” said he, 
“ and I glory in them, my children : they served in 
my school; and all of us caught our professional zeal 
and fire from the great and good Earl St. Vincent. 
What a pleasure, what happiness, to have the Nile 
fleet all taken, under my orders and regulations !”— 
The two frigates still remained in La Yalette: be- 


1800.] LIFE OF NELSON. 221 

fore its surrender thev stole out; one was taken in 
the attempt; the other was the only ship of the 
whole fleet which escaped capture or destruction. 

Letters were found on board the Guillaume Tell 
showing that the French were now become hopeless 
of preserving the conquest which they had so foully 
acquired. Trowbridge and his brother officers were 
anxious that Nelson should have the honour of 
signing the capitulation. They told him, that they 
absolutely, as far as they dared, insisted on his stay¬ 
ing to do this ; but their earnest and affectionate 
entreaties were vain. Sir William Hamilton had 
just been superseded : Nelson had no feeling of 
cordiality towards Lord Keith; and thinking that, 
after Earl St. Vincent, no man had so good a claim 
to the command in the Mediterranean as himself, 
he applied for permission to return to England ; 
telling the first lord of the admiralty, that his spirit 
could not submit patiently, and that he was a bro¬ 
ken-hearted man. From the time of his return 
from Egypt, amid all the honours which were 
showered upon him, he had suffered many mortifica¬ 
tions. Sir Sidney Smith had been sent to Egypt, 
with orders to take under his command the squadron 
which Nelson had left there. Sir Sidney appears 
to have thought that this command was to be inde¬ 
pendent of Nelson : and Nelson himself thinking 
so, determined to return, saying to Earl St. Vincent, 
u I do feel, for I am a man, that it is impossible 
for me to serve in these seas with a squadron under 
a junior officer.” Earl St. Vincent seems to have 
dissuaded him from this resolution: some heart¬ 
burnings, however, still remained, and some incau¬ 
tious expressions of Sir Sidney’s were noticed by 


222 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


[_1800. 

him in terms of evident displeasure. But this did 
not continue long, as no man bore more willing tes ¬ 
timony than Nelson to the admirable defence of 
Acre. 

He differed from Sir Sidney as to the policy 
which ought to be pursued toward the French in 
Egypt ; and strictly commanded him, in the strong¬ 
est language, not, on any pretence, to permit a 
single Frenchman to leave the country, saying, that 
he considered it nothing short of madness to per¬ 
mit that band of thieves to return to Europe. 
“ No,” said he, “ to Egypt they went with their 
own consent, and there they shall remain, while 
Nelson commands this squadron: for never, never, 
will he consent to the return of one ship or French¬ 
man.—I wish them to perish in Egypt, and give an 
awful lesson to the world of the justice of the Al¬ 
mighty.” If Nelson had not thoroughly understood 
the character of the enemy against whom he was 
engaged, their conduct in Egypt would have dis¬ 
closed it. After the battle of the Nile he had 
landed all his prisoners, upon a solemn engagement 
made between Trowbridge on one side, and Capt. 
Barre on the other, that none of them should serve 
till regularly exchanged.—They were no sooner on 
shore, than part of them were drafted into the dif¬ 
ferent regiments, and the remainder formed into a 
corps, called the nautic legion. This occasioned 
Capt. Hallo well to say, that the French had for¬ 
feited all claim to respect from us. “ The army 
of Buonaparte,” said he, “ are entirely destitute of 
every principle of honour : they have always acted 
like licentious thieves.” Buonaparte’s escape w~as 
the more regretted by Nelson, because, if he had 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1800.] 


223 


had sufficient force, he thought it would certainly 
have been prevented. He wished to keep ships 
upon the watch to intercept anything coming from 
Egypt: but the admiralty calculated upon the as¬ 
sistance of the Russian fleet, which failed when it 
was most wanted. The ships which should have 
been thus employed were then required for more 
pressing services; and the bloody Corsican was 
thus enabled to reach Europe in safety ; there to 
become the guilty instrument of a wider-spreading 
destruction than any with which the world had ever 
before been visited. 

Nelson had other causes of chagrin. Earl St. 
Vincent, for whom he felt such high respect, and 
whom Sir John Orde had challenged, for having 
nominated Nelson instead of himself to the com¬ 
mand of the Nile squadron, laid claim to prize- 
money, as commander-in-chief, after he had quitted 
the station. The point was contested, and decided 
against him. Nelson, perhaps, felt this the more, 
because his own feelings, with regard to money, 
were so different. An opinion had been given by 
Dr. Lawrence, which would have excluded the 
junior flag-officers from prize money. When this 
was made known to him, his reply was in these 
words : “ Notwithstanding Dr. Lawrence’s opinion, 
I do not believe I have any right to exclude the 
junior flag-officers : and if I have, I desire that no 
such claim may be made: no, not if it were sixty 
times the sum,—and, poor as I am, I were never to 
see prize money."’ 

A ship could not be spared to convey him to 
England ; he therefore travelled through Germany 
to Hamjmrgh, in company with his inseparable 


224 LIFE OF NELSON. QlSOO. 

friends, Sir William and Lady Hamilton. The 
Queen of Naples went with them to Vienna. While 
they w T ere at Leghorn, upon a report that the French 
were approaching (for, through the folly of weak 
courts, and the treachery of venal cabinets, they 
had now recovered their ascendancy in Italy), the 
people rose tumultuously, and would fain have 
persuaded Nelson to lead them against the enemy. 
Public honours, and yet more gratifying testimo¬ 
nials of public admiration, awaited Nelson wherever 
he went. The Prince of Esterhazy entertained 
him in a style of Hungarian magnificence—a hun * 
dred grenadiers, each six feet in height, constantly 
waiting at table. At Magdeburgh, the master of 
the hotel where he was entertained contrived to 
show him for money;—admitting the curious to 
mount a ladder, and peep at him through a small 
window. A wine merchant at Hamburgh, who was 
above seventy years of age, requested to speak 
with Lady Hamilton; and told her he had some 
Rhenish wine, of the vintage of 1625, which had 
been in his own possession more than lialf-a-cen- 
tury: he had preserved it for some extraordinary 
occasion ; and that which had now arrived was far 
beyond any that he could ever have expected. 
His request was, that her ladyship would prevail 
upon Lord Nelson to accept six dozen of this incom¬ 
parable wine : part of it would then have the honour 
to flow into the heart’s blood of that immortal hero ; 
and this thought w T ould make him happy during 
the remainder of his life. Nelson, when this sin¬ 
gular request was reported to him, went into the 
room, and taking the w T orthy old gentleman kindly 
by the hand, consented to receive six bottles, pro- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1800. J 


225 


vided the donor would dine with him next day. 
Twelve were sent; and Nelson saying, that he 
hoped yet to win half a dozen more great victories, 
promised to lay by six bottles of his Hamburgh 
friend’s wine, for the purpose of drinking one after 
each.—A German pastor, between seventy and 
eighty years of age, travelled forty miles, with the 
Bible of his parish church, to request that Nelson 
would write his name on the first leaf of it. He 
called him the saviour of the Christian world. The 
old man’s hope deceived him. There was no Nelson 
upon shore, or Europe would have been saved ; but, 
in his foresight of the horrors with which all Ger¬ 
many and all Christendom were threatened by France, 
the pastor could not possibly have apprehended more 
than has actually taken place. 


CHAPTER VII. 

Nelson separates himself from his wife—Northern Confederacy— 
He goes to the Baltic, under Sir Hyde Parker—Battle of 
Copenhagen, and subsequent negotiation—Nelson is made a 
Viscount. 

Nelson was welcomed in England with every 
mark of popular honour. At Yarmouth, where he 
landed, every ship in the harbour hoisted her 
colours. The mayor and corporation waited upon 
him with the freedom of the town, and accompanied 
him in procession to church, with all the naval 
officers on shore, and the principal inhabitants. 
Bonfires and illuminations concluded the day; and, 
on the morrow, the volunteer cavalry drew up and 

Q 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


226 


[1800. 


saluted him as he departed, and followed the car¬ 
riage to the borders of the county. At Ipswich, 
the people came out to meet him, drew him a mile 
into the town, and three miles out. When he was 
in the Agamemnon, he wished to represent this 
place in parliament, and some of his friends had 
consulted the leading men of the corporation ; the 
result was not successful : and Nelson observing, 
that he would endeavour to find out a preferable 
path into parliament, said there might come a time 
when the people of Ipswich would think it an honour 
to have had him for their representative. In Lon¬ 
don, he was feasted by the city, drawn by the 
populace from Ludgate-hill to Guildhall, and re¬ 
ceived the thanks of the common-council for his 
great victory, and a golden-hilted sword studded 
with diamonds. Nelson had every earthly blessing, 
except domestic happiness : he had forfeited that 
for ever. Before he had been three months in 
England he separated from Lady Nelson. Some 
of his last words to her were:—“ I call God to 
witness, there is nothing in you, or your conduct, 
that I wish otherwise.” This was the consequence 
of his infatuated attachment to Lady Hamilton. 
It had before caused a quarrel with his son-in-law, 
and occasioned remonstrances from his truest friends ; 
which produced no other effect than that of making 
him displeased with them, and more dissatisfied with 
himself. 

The Addington administration was just at this 
time formed : and Nelson, who had solicited em¬ 
ployment, and been made vice-admiral of the blue, 
was sent to the Baltic, as second in command, 
under Sir Hyde Parker, bv Earl St. Vincent, the 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1800.] 


227 


new first lord of the admiralty. The three northern 
courts had formed a confederacy for making Eng 
land resign her naval rights. Of these courts, 
Russia was guided by the passions of its Emperor, 
Paul, a man not without fits of generosity, and 
some natural goodness, but subject to the wildest 
humours of caprice, and crazed by the possession of 
greater power than can ever be safely, or perhaps 
innocently, possessed by weak humanity. Denmark 
was French at heart: ready to co-operate in all the 
views of France, to recognise all her usurpations, 
and obey all her injunctions. Sweden, under a 
king whose principles were right, and whose feelings 
were generous, but who had a taint of hereditary 
insanity, acted in acquiescence with the dictates of 
two powers whom it feared to offend. The Danish 
navy, at this time, consisted of twenty-three ships 
of the line, with about thirty-one frigates and 
smaller vessels, exclusive of guard ships. The 
Swedes had eighteen ships of the line, fourteen fri¬ 
gates and sloops, seventy-four galleys and smaller 
vessels, besides gun-boats; and this force was in a 
far better state of equipment than the Danish. The 
Russians had eighty-two sail of the line and forty 
frigates. Of these there were forty-seven sail of 
the line at Cronstadt, Revel, Petersburgh, and 
Archangel: but the Russian fleet was ill manned, 
ill officered, and ill equipped. Such a combination 
under the influence of France would soon have 
become formidable: and never did the British 
cabinet display more decision than in instantly 
preparing to crush it. They erred, however, in 
permitting any petty consideration to prevent them 
from appointing Nelson to the command. The 

0 , 2 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


228 LIFE OF NELSON. [l801. 

public properly murmured at seeing it entrusted to 
another : and he himself said to Earl St. Yincent, 
that, circumstanced as he was, this expedition would 
probably be the last service that he should ever per¬ 
form. The earl in reply, besought him, for God’s 
sake, not to suffer himself to be carried away by 
any sudden impulse. 

The season happened to be unusually favourable, 
so mild a winter had not been known in the Baltic 
for many years. When Nelson joined the fleet at 
Yarmouth, he found the admiral “ a little nervous 
about dark nights and fields of ice.”—“But we 
must brace up,” said he; “ these are not times for 
nervous systems.—I hope we shall give our north¬ 
ern enemies that hailstorm of bullets, which gives 
our dear country the dominion of the sea. We 
have it, and all the devils in the north cannot take 
it from us, if our wooden walls have fair play.” 
Before the fleet left Yarmouth, it was sufficiently 
known that its destination was against Denmark. 
Some Danes, who belonged to the Amazon frigate, 
went to Capt. Riou, and telling him what they had 
heard, begged that he would get them exchanged 
into a ship bound on some other destination. — 
“ They had no wish,” they said, “ to quit the Bri¬ 
tish service; but they entreated that they might 
not be forced to fight against their own country.” 
There was not in our whole navy a man who had 
a higher and more chivalrous sense of duty than 
Riou. Tears came into his eyes while the men 
were speaking : without making any reply, he in¬ 
stantly ordered his boat, and did not return to the 
Amazon till he could tell them that their wish was 
effected. 


1801.]] LIFE OF NELSON. 229 

The fleet sailed on the 12th of March. Mr. 
Vansittart sailed in it; the British cabinet still 
hoping to obtain its end by negotiation. It was 
well for England, that Sir Hyde Parker placed a 
fuller confidence in Nelson than the government 
seems to have done at this most important crisis. 
Iler enemies might well have been astonished at 

* C 

learning, that any other man should for a moment 
have been thought of for the command. But so little 
deference was paid, even at this -time, to his intui¬ 
tive and all-commanding genius, that when the fleet 
had reached its first rendezvous, at the entrance of 
the Cattegat, lie had received no official communi¬ 
cation whatever of the intended operations. His 
own mind had been made up upon them with its 
accustomed decision. “ All I have gathered of our 
first plans,” said he, “ I disapprove most exceed¬ 
ingly. Honour may arise from them ; good cannot. 
I hear we are likely to anchor outside of Cronen- 
burgh Castle, instead of Copenhagen, which would 
give weight to our negotiation. A Danish minister 
would think twice before he would put his name to 
war with England, when the next moment he would 
probably see his master’s fleet in flames, and his 
capital in ruins. The Dane should see our flag 
every moment he lifted up his head.” 

Mr. Vansittart left the fleet at the Scaw, and 
preceded it in a frigate, with a flag of truce. Pre¬ 
cious time was lost by this delay, which was to be 
purchased by the dearest blood of Britain and Den¬ 
mark : according to the Danes themselves, the in¬ 
telligence that a British fleet was seen off the Sound 
produced a much more general alarm in Copenha¬ 
gen than its actual arrival in the Roads; for their 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


230 LIFE OF NELSON. [1801. 

means of defence were, at that time, in such a state, 
that they could hardly hope to resist, still less to 
repel, an enemy. On the 21st Nelson had a long 
conference with Sir Hyde ; and the next day ad¬ 
dressed a letter to him, worthy of himself and of 
the occasion. Mr. Vansittart’s report had then been 
received. It represented the Danish government 
as in the highest degree hostile: and their state 
of preparation as exceeding what our cabinet had 
supposed possible:, for Denmark had profited, with 
all activity, of the leisure which had so impoliticly 
been given her. “ The more I have reflected/' said 
Nelson to his'commander, “the more I am con¬ 
firmed in opinion, that not a moment should be 
lost in attacking the enemy. They will every day 
and every hour be stronger: we shall never be so 
good a match for them as at this moment. The 
only consideration is, how to get at them with the 
least risk to our ships.—Here you are, with almost 
the safety, certainly with the honour, of England, 
more entrusted to you, than ever yet fell to the lot 
of any British officer. On your decision depends 
whether our country shall be degraded in the eyes 
of Europe, or whether she shall rear her head higher 
than ever. Again, I do repeat, never did our coun¬ 
try depend so much upon the success of any fleet 
as on this. How best to honour her, and abate the 
pride of her enemies, must be the subject of your 
deepest consideration.” 

Supposing him to force the passage of the Sound, 
Nelson thought some damage might be done 
among the masts and yards; though, perhaps, 
not one of them but would be serviceable again. 
“ If the wind be fair,” said he, “ and you deter- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801.] LIFE OF NELSON. 231 

mine to attack the ships and Crown Islands, you 
must expect the natural issue of such a battle— 
ships crippled, and, perhaps, one or two lost; for 
the wind which carries you in, will most probably 
not bring out a crippled ship. This mode I call 
taking the bull by the horns. It, however, will not 
prevent the Revel ships, or the Swedes, from join¬ 
ing the Danes; and to prevent this is, in my hum¬ 
ble opinion, a measure absolutely necessary; and 
still to attack Copenhagen.” For this he proposed 
two modes. One was, to pass Cronenburgh, taking 
the risk of danger; take the deepest and straight- 
est channel along the Middle Grounds ; and then 
coming down the Garbar, or King’s Channel, at¬ 
tack the Danish line of floating batteries and ships, 
as might be found convenient. This would pre¬ 
vent a junction, and might give an opportunity of 
bombarding Copenhagen. Or to take the passage 
of the Belt, which might be accomplished in four or 
five days; and then the attack by Draco might be 
made, and the junction of tlie Russians prevented. 
Supposing them through the Belt, he proposed that 
a detachment of the fleet should be sent to de¬ 
stroy the Russian squadron at Revel; and that the 
business at Copenhagen should be attempted with 
the remainder. “ The measure,” he said, “ might 


be thought bold : but the boldest measures are the 
safest.” 

The pilots, as men who had nothing but safety 
to think of, were terrified by the formidable report 
of the batteries of Elsineur, and the tremendous 
preparations which our negotiators, who were now 
returned from their fruitless mission, had witnessed. 
They, therefore, persuaded Sir Hyde to prefer the 


232 LIFE OF NELSON. £l801. 

passage of the Belt. “ Let it be by the Sound, 
by the Belt, or any how,” cried Nelson, “ only lose 
not an hour! ” On the 26th, they sailed for the 
Belt: such was the habitual reserve of Sir Hyde, 
that his own captain, the captain of the fleet, did 
not know wlflcli course he had. resolved to take till 
the fleet were getting under weigh. When Capt. 
Domett was thus apprised of it, he felt it his duty 
to represent to the admiral his belief that if that 
course were persevered in, the ultimate object would 
be totally defeated : it was liable to long delays, 
and to accidents of ships grounding; in the whole 
fleet there were only one captain, and one pilot, 
who knew anything of this formidable passage, (as 
it was then deemed,) and their knowledge was very 
slight: their instructions did not authorise them 
to attempt it:—supposing them safe through the 
Belts, the heavy ships could not come over the 
Grounds to attack Copenhagen : and light vessels 
would have no effect on such a line of defence as 
had been prepared against them. Domett urged 
these reasons so forcibly that Sir Hyde’s opinion 
was shaken, and he consented to bring the fleet to, 
and send for Nelson on board. There can be little 
doubt but that the expedition would have failed, if 
Capt. Domett had not thus timely and earnestly 
given his advice.—Nelson entirely agreed with him ; 
and it was finally determined to take the passage 
of the Sound,—and the fleet returned to its former, 
anchorage. 

The next day was more idly expended in de¬ 
spatching a flag of truce to the governor of Cronen- 
burgli Castle, to ask whether he had received orders 
to fire at the British fleet; as the admiral must 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801.] 


233 


consider the first gun to be a declaration of war on 
the part of Denmark. A soldier-like and becoming 
answer was returned to this formality. The governor 
said that the British minister had not been sent 
away from Copenhagen, but had obtained a passport 
at his own demand. He himself, as a soldier, 
could not meddle with politics; but he was not at 
liberty to suffer a fleet, of which the intention was 
not yet known, to approach the guns of the castle 
which he had the honour to command : and he re¬ 
quested, if the British admiral should think proper 
to make any proposals to the King of Denmark, 
that he might be apprised of it before the fleet 
approached nearer. During this intercourse, a 
Dane, who came on board the commanders ship, 
having occasion to express his business in writing, 
found the pen blunt ; and, holding it up, sarcasti¬ 
cally said, “ If your guns are not better pointed 
than your pens, you will make little impression on 
Copenhagen!” 

On that day intelligence reached the admiral of 
the loss of one of his fleet, the Invincible, seventy- 
four, wrecked on a sand-bank, as she was coming 
out of Yarmouth : four hundred of her men perished 
in her. Nelson, who was now appointed to lead 
the van, shifted his flag to the Elephant, Capt. 
Foley—a lighter ship than the St. George, and, 
therefore, fitter for the expected operations. The 
two following days were calm. Orders had been 
given to pass the Sound as soon as the wind would 
permit; and, on the afternoon of the 29th, the ships 
were cleared for action, with an alacrity characteris¬ 
tic of British seamen. At daybreak, on the 30th, it 
blew a top-sail breeze from N. W. The signal was 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


234 LIFE OF NELSON. [A801. 

made, and the fleet moved on in order of battle; 
Nelson’s division in the van, Sir Hyde’s in the centre, 
and Admiral Graves’ in the rear. 

Great actions, whether military or naval, have 
generally given celebrity to the scenes from whence 
they are denominated; and thus petty villages, and 
capes and bays, known only to the coasting trader, 
become associated with mighty deeds, and their 
names are made conspicuous in the history of the 
world. Here, however, the scene was every way 
worthy of the drama. The political importance of 
the Sound is such, that grand objects are not needed 
there to impress the imagination ; yet is the channel 
full of grand and interesting objects, both of art 
and nature. This passage, which Denmark had so 
long considered as the key of the Baltic, is, in its 
narrowest part, about three miles wide; and here 
the city of Elsineur is situated : except Copenhagen 
the most flourishing of the Danish towns. Every 
vessel which passes lowers her top-gallant sails, and 
pays toll at Elsineur; a toll which is believed to 
have had its origin in the consent of the traders to 


that sea, Denmark taking upon itself the charge of 
constructing lighthouses, and erecting signals, to 
mark the shoals and rocks from the Cattegat to the 
Baltic : and they, on their part, agreeing that all 
ships should pass this way, in order that all might 
pay their shares ; none from that time using the 
passage of the Belt, because it was not fitting that 
they, who enjoyed the benefit of the beacons in 
dark and stormy weather, should evade contributing 
to them in fair seasons and summer nights. Of late 
years about ten thousand vessels had annually paid 
this contribution in time of peace. Adjoining Eisi- 


1801.J LIFE OF NELSON. 235 

neur, and at the edge of the peninsular promontory, 
upon the nearest point of land to the Swedish 
coast, stands Cronenburgh Castle, built after Tycho 
Brahe’s design ; a magnificent pile—at once a pa¬ 
lace, and fortress, and state-prison, with its spires 
and towers, and battlements, and batteries. On 
the left of the strait is the old Swedish city of 
Helsinburg : at the foot, and on the side of a hill. 
To the north of Helsinburg the shores are steep and 
rocky ; they low T er to the south ; and the distant 
spires of Lanscrona, Lund, and Malmoe, are seen 
in the flat country. The Danish shores consist 
partly of ridges of sand ; but more frequently they 
are diversified with corn-fields, meadow's, slopes, 
and are covered with rich wood, and villages, and 
villas, and summer palaces belonging to the king 
and the nobility, and denoting the vicinity of a 
great capital. The isles of Hucn, Statholm, and 
Amak, appear in the widening channel; and at 
the distance of twenty miles from Elsineur stands 
Copenhagen in full view; the best city of the north, 
and one of the finest capitals of Europe ; visible, 
with its stately spires, far off. Amid these magni¬ 
ficent objects there are some which possess a pecu¬ 
liar interest for the recollections which they call 
forth. The isle of ITuen, a lovely domain, about 
six miles in circumference, had been the munificent 
oift of Frederick the Second to Tycho Brahe. It 
has higher shores than the near coast of Zealand, or 
than the Swedish coast in that part. Here most of 
his discoveries were made ; and here the ruins are to 
be seen of his observatory, and of the mansion where 
he was visited by princes ; and where, with a 
princely spirit, he received and entertained all comers 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


236 LIFE OF NELSON. [1801. 

from all parts, and promoted science by his libera¬ 
lity, as well as by his labours. Elsineur is a name 
familiar to English ears, being inseparably associated 
with Hamlet, and one of the noblest works of 
human genius. Cronenburgh had been the scene of 
deeper tragedy : here Queen Matilda was confined, 
the victim of a foul and murderous court intrigue. 
Here, amid heart-breaking griefs, she found con¬ 
solation in nursing her infant. Here she took her 
everlasting leave of that infant, when, by the inter¬ 
ference of England, her own deliverance was ob¬ 
tained; and as the ship bore her away from a country 
where the venial indiscretions of youth and un¬ 
suspicious gaiety had been so cruelly punished, upon 
these towers she fixed her eyes, and stood upon the 
deck, obstinately gazing toward them till the last 
speck had disappeared. 

The Sound being the only frequented entrance 
to the Baltic, the great Mediterranean of the 
North, few parts of the sea display so frequent a 
navigation. In the height of the season not fewer 
than a hundred vessels pass every four-and-twenty 
hours, for many weeks in succession : but never 
had so busy or so splendid a scene been exhibited 
there as on this day, when the British fleet pre¬ 
pared to force that passage, where, till now, all 
ships had vailed their topsails to the flag of Den¬ 
mark. The whole force consisted of fifty-one sail 
of various descriptions ; of which sixteen were of 
the line. The greater part of the bomb and gun 
vessels took their stations off* Cronenburgh Castle, 
to cover the fleet; while others on the larboard 
were ready to engage the Swedish shore. The 
Danes, having improved every moment which ill- 



1801. ] LIFE O F NELSON. 23? 

timed negotiation and baffling weather gave them, 
had lined their shores with batteries; and as soon 
as the Monarch, which was the leading ship, came 
abreast of them, a fire was opened from about a 
hundred pieces of cannon and mortars: our light 
vessels immediately, in return, opened their fire 
upon the castle. Here was all the pompous cir¬ 
cumstance, and exciting reality of Avar, without its 
effects; for this ostentatious display was but a 
bloodless prelude to the wide and sweeping de¬ 
struction which was soon to follow. The enemies’ 
shot fell near enough to splash the water on board 
our ships : not relying upon any forbearance of the 
Swedes, they meant to have kept the mid channel; 
but, when they perceived that not a shot was fired 
from Helsinburg, and that no batteries were to be 
seen on the Swedish shore, they inclined to that 
side, so as completely to get out of reach of the 
Danish guns. The uninterrupted blaze which was 
kept up from them till the fleet had passed, served 
only to exhilarate our sailors, and afford them 
matter for jest, as the shot fell in showers a full 
cable’s length short of its destined aim. A few 
rounds were returned from some of our leading- 
ships, till they perceived its inutility :—this, how¬ 
ever, occasioned the only bloodshed of the day, 
some of our men being killed and wounded by the 
bursting of a gun. As soon as the main body 
had passed, the gun vessels followed, desisting from 
their bombardment, which had been as innocent 
as that of the enemy; and, about mid-day, the 
whole fleet anchored between the island of Huen 
and Copenhagen. Sir Hyde, with Nelson, Admi¬ 
ral Graves, some cf the senior captains, and the 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


233 LIFE OF NELSON. [1801. 

commanding officers of the artillery and the troops, 
then proceeded in a lugger, to reconnoitre the ene¬ 
my’s means of defence; a formidable line of ships, 
radeaus, pontoons, galleys, fire-ships, and gun-boats, 
flanked and supported by extensive batteries, and 
occupying, from one extreme point to the other, an 
extent of nearly four miles. 

A council of war was held in the afternoon. It 
was apparent that the Danes could not be attacked 
without great difficulty and risk ; and some of the 
members of the council spoke of the number of the 
Swedes and the Russians whom they should after¬ 
wards have to engage, as a consideration which 
ought to be borne in mind. Nelson, who kept 
pacing the cabin, impatient as he ever was of any¬ 
thing which savoured of irresolution, repeatedly 
said, “ The more numerous the better, I wish they 
were twice as many,—the easier the victory, depend 
on it.” The plan upon which he had determined, 
if ever it should be his fortune to bring a Baltic 
fleet to action, was, to attack the head of their 
line, and confuse their movements.—“ Close with a 
Frenchman,” he used to say, “but outmanoeuvre 
a Russian.” He offered his services for the attack, 
requiring ten sail of the line, and the whole of the 
smaller craft. Sir Hyde gave him two more line 
of battle ships than he asked, and left everything to 
his judgment. 

The enemy’s force was not the only, nor the 
greatest, obstacle with which the British fleet had 
to contend : there was another to be overcome be¬ 
fore they could come in contact with it. The chan¬ 
nel was little known, and extremely intricate ; all 
the buoys had been removed : and the Danes con- 


LIFE OF NELSON 


1801.] LIFE OF NELSON 239 

sidered this difficulty as almost insuperable, think¬ 
ing the channel impracticable for so large a fleet. 
Nelson himself saw the soundings made, and the 
buoys laid down, boating it upon this exhausting 
service, day and night, till it was effected. When 
this was done, he thanked God for having enabled 
him to get through this difficult part of his duty. 
“ It had worn him down,” he said, 44 and was in¬ 
finitely more grievous to him than any resistance 
which he could experience from the enemy.” 

At the first council of war, opinions inclined to 
an attack from the eastward : but the next day, 
the wind being southerly, after a second examination 
of the Danish position, it was determined to attack 
from the south, approaching in the manner which 
Nelson had suggested in his first thoughts. On the 
morning of the 1st of April the whole fleet removed 
to an anchorage within two leagues of the town, 
and off the N.W. end of the Middle Ground ; a 
shoal lying exactly before the town, at about three 
quarters of a mile distance, and extending along 
its whole sea front. The King’s Channel, where 
there is deep water, is between this shoal and the 
town; and here the Danes had arranged their line 
of defence, as near the shore as possible ; nineteen 
ships and floating batteries, flanked, at the end 
nearest the town, by the Crown Batteries, which 
were two artificial islands, at the mouth of the 
harbour—most formidable works; the larger one 
having, by the Danish account, sixty -six guns ; but, 
as Nelson believed, eighty-eight. The fleet having 
anchored, Nelson, with Riou, in the Amazon, made 
his last examination of the ground; and, about one 
o’clock, returning to his own ship, threw out the 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


240 


[1801. 


signal to weigh. It was received with a shout 
throughout the whole division ; they weighed with 
a light and favourable wind : the narrow channel 
between the island of Saltholm and the Middle 
Ground had been accurately buoyed ; the smail 
craft pointed out the course distinctly ; Riou led the 
way : the whole division coasted along the outer 
edge of the shoal, doubled its farther extremity, 
and anchored there off Draco Point, just as the 
darkness closed—the headmost of the enemy’s line 
not being more than two miles distant. The signal 
to prepare for action had been made early in the 
evening: and, as his own anchor dropt, Nelson 
called out, u I will fight them the moment I. have 
a fair wind.” It had been agreed that Sir Hyde, 
with the remaining ships, should weigh on the fol¬ 
lowing morning, at the same time as Nelson, to 
menace the Crown Batteries on his side, and the 
four ships of the line which lay at the entrance of 
the arsenal; and to cover our own disabled ships as 
they came out of action. 

The Danes, meantime, had not been idle: no 
sooner did the guns of Cronenburgh make it known 
to the whole city that all negotiation was at an 
end, that the British fleet was passing the Sound, 
and that the dispute between the two crowns must 
now be decided by arms, than a spirit displayed 
itself most honourable to the Danish character. 
All ranks offered themselves to the service of their 
country ; the university furnished a corps of twelve 
hundred youth, the flower of Denmark—it was one 
of those emergencies in which little drilling or 
discipline is necessary to render courage available ; 
they had nothing to learn but how to manage the 


LIFE OF KELSON. 


241 


1801.] 

guns, and day and night were employed in prac¬ 
tising them. When the movements of Nelson’s 
squadron were perceived, it was known when and 
where the attack was to be expected, and the line 
of defence was manned indiscriminately by soldiers, 
sailors, and citizens. Had not the whole attention 
of the Danes been directed to strengthen their own 
means of defence, they might most materially have 
annoyed the invading squadron, and, perhaps, frus¬ 
trated the impending attack ; for the British ships 
were crowded in an anchoring ground of little ex¬ 
tent :—it was calm, so that mortar-boats might 
have acted against them to the utmost advantage; 
and they were within range of shells from Amak 
Island. A few fell among them ; but the enemy 
soon ceased to fire. It was learned afterwards, that, 
fortunately for the fleet, the bed of the mortar had 
given way ; and the Danes either could not get it 
replaced, or, in the darkness, lost the direction. 

This was an awful night for Copenhagen,—far 
more so than for the British fleet, where the men 
were accustomed to battle and victory, and had 
none of those objects before their eyes which ren¬ 
der death terrible. Nelson sat down to table with 
a large party of his officers: he was, as he was ever 
wont to be when on the eve of action, in high spi¬ 
rits, and drank to a leading wind, and to the suc¬ 
cess of the morrow. After supper they returned to 
their respective ships, except Riou, who remained 
to arrange the order of battle with Nelson and 
Foley, and to draw up instructions : Hardy, mean¬ 
time, went in a small boat to examine the channel 
between them and the enemy; approaching so 
near, that he sounded round their leading ship with 

H 


242 LIFE OF NELSON. [l801. 

a pole, lest the noise of throwing the lead should 
discover him. The incessant fatigue of body, as 
well as mind, which Nelson had undergone during 
the last three days, had so exhausted him, that he 
was earnestly urged to go to his cot; and his old 
servant, Allen, using that kind of authority which 
long and affectionate services entitled and enabled 
him to assume on such occasions, insisted upon his 
complying. The cot w T as placed on the floor, and 
he continued to dictate from it. About eleven 
Hardy returned, and reported the practicability of 
the channel, and the depth of water up to the ene¬ 
my’s line. About one, the orders were completed ; 
and half-a-dozen clerks, in the foremost cabin, pro¬ 
ceeded to transcribe them : Nelson frequently call¬ 
ing out to them from his cot to hasten their work, 
for the wind was becoming fair. Instead of at- 
tempting to get a few hours’ sleep, he was con¬ 
stantly receiving reports on this important point. 
At daybreak it was announced as becoming per¬ 
fectly fair. The clerks finished their work about 
six. Nelson, who was already up, breakfasted, 
and made signal for all captains. The land forces, 
and five hundred seamen, under Capt. Freemantle, 
and the lion. Colonel Stewart, w r ere to storm the 
Crown Battery as soon as its fire should be silenced : 
and Riou—whom Nelson had never seen till this 
expedition, but whose worth he had instantly per¬ 
ceived, and appreciated as it deserved—had the 
Blanche and Alcmene frigates, the Dart and Arrow 
sloops, and the Zephyr and Otter fire-ships, given 
him, with a special command to act as circum¬ 
stances might require :—every other ship had its 
station appointed. 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801.] 


243 


Between eight and nine, the pilots and masters 
were ordered on board the admiral’s ships. The 
pilots were mostly men who had been mates in 
Baltic traders ; and their hesitation about the bear¬ 
ing of the east end of the shoal, and the exact line 
of deep water, gave ominous warning of how little 
their knowledge was to be trusted. The signal for 
action had been made, the wind was fair—not a 
moment to be lost. Nelson urged them to be 
steady,—to be resolute, and to decide: but they 
wanted the only ground for steadiness and decision 
in such cases; and Nelson had reason to regret 
that he had not trusted to Hardy’s single report. 
This was one of the most painful moments of his 
life; and he always spoke of it with bitterness. 
“ I experienced in the Sound,” said he, “ the 
misery of having the honour of our country in¬ 
trusted to a set of pilots, who have no other thought 
than to keep the ships clear of danger, and their 
own silly heads clear of shot. Everybody knows 
what I must have suffered: and if any merit 
attaches itself to me, it was for combating the 
dangers of the shallows in defiance of them.” At 
length Mr. Bryerly, the master of the Bellona, de¬ 
clared that he was prepared to lead the fleet: his 
judgment was acceded to by the rest: they re¬ 
turned to their ships; and, at half-past nine, the 
signal was made to weigh in succession. 

Capt. Murray, in the Edgar, led the way ; the 
Agamemnon was next in order; but on the first 
attempt to leave her anchorage, she could not 
weather the edge of the shoal; and Nelson had the 
grief to see his old ship, in which he had performed 
so many years’ gallant services, immovably aground, 

r 2 


244 LIFE OF NELSON. []l801. 

at a moment when her help was so greatly required. 
Signal was then made for the Polyphemus: and 
this change in the order of sailing was executed 
with the utmost promptitude: yet so much delay 
had thus been unavoidably occasioned, that the 
Edgar was for some time unsupported: and the 
Polyphemus, whose place should have been at the 
end of the enemy’s line, where their strength was 
the greatest, could get no further than the begin¬ 
ning, owing to the difficulty of the channel: there 
she occupied, indeed, an efficient station, but one 
where her presence was less required. The Isis fol¬ 
lowed, with better fortune, and took her own berth. 
The Bellona, Sir Thomas Boulden Thompson, kept 
too close on the starboard shoal, and grounded 
abreast of the outer ship of the enemy: this was 
the more vexatious, inasmuch as the wind was fair, 
the room ample, and three ships had led the way. 
The Russell, following the Bellona, grounded in 
like manner: both were within reach of shot; but 
their absence from their intended stations was se¬ 
verely felt. Each ship had been ordered to pass 
her leader on the starboard side, because the water 
was supposed to shoal on the larboard shore. Nel¬ 
son, who came next after these two ships, thought 
they had kept too far on the starboard direction, 
and made signal for them to close with the enemy, 
not knowing that they were aground : but, when he 
perceived that they did not obey the signal, he or¬ 
dered the Elephant’s helm to starboard, and went 
within these ships: thus quitting the appointed 
order of sailing, and guiding those which were to 
follow. The greater part of the fleet were probably, 
by this act of promptitude < n his part, saved from 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801.] LIFE OF NELSON. 245 

going on shore. Each ship, as she arrived nearly 
opposite to her appointed station, let her anchor go 
by the stern, and presented her broadside to the 
Danes. The distance between each was about half 
a cable. The action was fought nearly at the dis¬ 
tance of a cable’s length from the enemy. This, 
which rendered its continuance so long, was owing 
to the ignorance and consequent indecision of the 
pilots. In pursuance of the same error which had 
led the Bellona and the Russell aground, they, 
when the lead was at a quarter less five, refused to 
approach nearer, in dread of shoaling their water 
on the larboard shore: a fear altogether erroneous, 
for the water deepened up to the very side of the 
enemy’s line. 

At five minutes after ten the action began. The 
first half of our fleet was engaged in about half-an- 


hour ; and, by half-past eleven, the battle became 
general. The plan of the attack had been complete: 
but seldom has any plan been more disconcerted 
by untoward accidents. Of twelve ships of the line, 
one was entirely useless, and two others in a situa¬ 
tion where they could not render half the service 
which was required of them. Of the squadron of 
gun-brigs, only one could get into action ; the rest 
were prevented, by baffling currents, from weather¬ 
ing the eastern end of the shoal; and only two of 
the bomb-vessels could reach their station on the 
Middle Ground, and open their mortars on the ar¬ 
senal, firing over botli fleets. Riou took the vacant 
station against the Crown Battery, with his frigates: 
attempting, with that unequal force, a service in 
which three sail of the line h id been directed to 
assist. 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


246 


[1801. 


Nelson’s agitation had been extreme when he 
saw himself, before the action begun, deprived of a 
fourth part of his ships of the line ; but no sooner 
was he in battle, where his squadron was received 
with the fire of more than a thousand guns, than, 
as if that artillery, like music, had driven away all 
care and painful thoughts, his countenance bright¬ 
ened ; and, as a bystander describes him, his con¬ 
versation became joyous, animated, elevated, and 
delightful. The commander-in-chief meantime, 
near enough to the scene of action to know the un- 
favourable accidents which had so materially weak¬ 
ened Nelson, and yet too distant to know the real 
state of the contending parties, suffered the most 
dreadful anxiety. To get to his assistance was im¬ 
possible; both wind and current were against him. 
Fear for the event, in such circumstances, would 
naturally preponderate in the bravest mind; and, 
at one o’clock, perceiving that, after three hours’ 
endurance, the enemy’s fire was unslackened, he 
began to despair of success. “ I will make the 
signal of recall,” said he to his captain, “ for Nelson’s 
sake. If he is in a condition to continue the action 
successfully, he will disregard it; if he is not, it 
will be an excuse for his retreat, and no blame can be 
imputed to him.” Captain Domett urged him at 
least to delay the signal, till he could communicate 
with Nelson; but, in Sir Hyde’s opinion, the danger 
was too pressing for delay :—“ The fire,” he said, 
“ was too hot for Nelson to oppose ; a retreat he 
thought must be made,—he was aware of the conse¬ 
quences to his own personal reputation, but it would 
be cowardly in him to leave Nelson to bear the whole 
shame of the failure, if shame it should be deemed.” 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801. ] LIFE OF NELSON. 24? 

Under a mistaken judgment*, therefore, but with 


this disinterested and generous feeling, he made the 
signal for retreat. 

Nelson was at this time, in all the excitement of 
action, pacing the quarter-deck. A shot through 
the mainmast knocked the splinters about; and he 
observed to one of his officers with a smile, “ It is 
warm work ; and this day may be the last to any of 
us at a moment—and then stopping short at the 
gangway, added, with emotion—“ But mark you! 
I would not be elsewhere for thousands.” About 
this time the signal lieutenant called out, that Num¬ 
ber Thirty-nine, (the signal for discontinuing the 
action) was thrown out by the commander-in-chief. 
He continued to walk the deck, and appeared to take 
no notice of it. The signal officer met him at the 
next turn, and asked if he should repeat it. “ No,” 
he replied ; “ acknowledge it.” Presently he called 
after him to know if the signal for close action was 
still hoisted; and being answered in the affirmative, 
said, “ Mind you keep it so.” He now paced the 
deck, moving the stump of his lost arm in a man¬ 
ner which always indicated great emotion. “ Do 
you know,” said he to Mr. Ferguson, “ what is 
shown on board the commander-in-chief? Number 
thirty-nine !” Mr. Ferguson asked what that meant. 
— u Why, to leave off action !” Then, shrugging up 
his shoulders, he repeated the words—“ Leave off 
action ? Now, damn me if I do ! You know, Foley,” 
turning to the captain, “ I have only one eye,— 


* I have great pleasure in rendering this justice to Sir Hyde 
Parker's reasoning. The fact is here stated upon the highest and 
most unquestionable authority. 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


248 


[1801. 


I have a right to be blind sometimes —and then, 
putting the glass to his blind eye, in that mood of 
mind which sports with bitterness, he exclaimed, 
“ I really do not see the signal!” Presently he ex¬ 
claimed, “ Damn the signal! Keep mine for closer 
battle flying ! That’s the way I answer such signals ! 
Nail mine to the mast!” Admiral Graves, who was 
so situated that he could not discern what was 
done on board the Elephant, disobeyed Sir Hyde’s 
signal in like manner: whether by fortunate mis¬ 
take, or by a like brave intention, has not been 
made known. The other ships of the line, looking 
only to Nelson, continued the action. The signal, 
however, saved Riou’s little squadron, but did not 
save its heroic leader. This squadron, which was 
nearest the commander-in-chief, obeyed, and hauled 
off. It had suffered severely in its most unequal 
contest. For a long time the Amazon had been 
firing, enveloped in smoke, when Riou. desired his 
men to stand fast, and let the smoke clear off, that 
they might see what they were about. A fatal 
order; for the Danes then got clear sight of her 
from the batteries, and pointed their guns with such 
tremendous effect, that nothing but the signal for 
retreat saved this frigate from destruction. “ What 
will Nelson think of us ?” was Riou’s mournful ex¬ 
clamation, when he unwillingly drew off. He had 
been wounded in the head by a splinter, and was 
sitting on a gun, encouraging his men, when, just 
as the Amazon showed her stern to the Trekroner 
battery, his clerk was killed by his side; and 
another shot swept away several marines, who were 
hauling in the main-brace. “ Come, then, my 
boys !” cried Riou; “ let us die all together !’’ The 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1S01.] LIFE OF NELSON. 245 

words had scarcely been uttered, before a raking 
shot cut him in two. Except it had been Nelson 
himself, the British navy could not have suffered a 
severer loss. 

The action continued along the line with una¬ 
bated vigour on our side, and with the most deter¬ 
mined resolution on the part of the Danes. They 
fought to great advantage, because most of the 
vessels in their line of defence we.Te without masts : 
the few which had any standing had their top-masts 
struck, and the hulls could not be seen at intervals. 
The Isis must have been destroyed by the superior 
weight of her enemy’s fire, if Capt. Inman, in the 
Desiree frigate, had not judiciously taken a situa¬ 
tion which enabled him to rake the Dane, and if 
the Polyphemus had not also relieved her. Both 
in the Bellona and the Isis many men were lost 
by the bursting of their guns. The former ship 
was about forty years old, and these guns were 
believed to be the same which she had first taken 
to sea : they were, probably, originally faulty, for 
the fragments were full of little air-holes. The 
Bellona lost seventy-five men ; the Isis, one hun¬ 
dred and ten ; the Monarch, two hundred and ten. 
She was, more than any other line-of-battle ship, 
exposed to the great battery : and supporting at 
the same time the united fire of the Holstein and 
the Zealand, her loss this day exceeded that of 
any single ship during the whole war. Amid the 
tremendous carnage in this vessel, some of the men 
displayed a singular instance of coolness ; the pork 
and peas happened to be in the kettle; a shot 
knocked its contents about;—they picked up the 
pieces, and ate and fought at the same time. 


250 LIFE OF NELSON. QlSOl. 

The prince royal had taken his station upon one 
of the batteries, from whence he beheld the action, 
and issued his orders. Denmark had never been 
engaged in so arduous a contest, and never did the 
Danes more nobly display their national courage : 
—a courage not more unhappily than impoliticly 
exerted in subserviency to the interest of France. 
Capt. Thura, of the Indfoedsretten, fell early in 
the action; and all his officers, except one lieu¬ 
tenant and one marine officer, were either killed 
or wounded. In the confusion, the colours were 
eitliei struck, or shot away ; but she was moored 
athwart one of the batteries in such a situation, 
that the British made no attempt to board her; 
and a boat was despatched to the prince, to inform 
him of her situation. He turned to those about 
him, and said, <c Gentlemen, Thura is killed ; which 
of you will take the command ?” Schroedersee, 
a captain who had lately resigned, on account 
of extreme ill-health, answered in a feeble voice, 
u I will! ” and hastened on board. The crew, 
perceiving a new commander coming alongside, 
hoisted their colours again, and fired a broadside. 
Schroedersee, when lie came on deck, found him¬ 
self surrounded by the dead and wounded, and 
called to those in the boat to get quickly on board : 
a ball struck him at that moment. A lieutenant, 
who had accompanied him, then took the com¬ 
mand, and continued to fight the ship. A youth 
of seventeen, by name Villemoes, particularly dis¬ 
tinguished himself on this memorable day. He 
had volunteered to take the command of a floating 
battery ; which was a raft, consisting merely of a 
number of beams nailed together, with a flooring 


1801.] LIFE OF NELSON. 251 

to support the guns: it was square, with a breast¬ 
work full of port-holes, anti without masts,—car¬ 
rying twenty-four guns, and one hundred and 
twenty men. With this he got under the stern of 
the Elephant, below the reach of the stern-chasers ; 
and, under a heavy fire of small arms from the 
marines, fought his raft, till the truce was announced, 
with such skill, as well as courage, as to excite 
Nelson’s warmest admiration. m 

Between one and two the fire of the Danes 
slackened ; about two it ceased from the greater 
part of their line, and some of their lighter ships 
w T ere adrift. It was, however, difficult to take pos¬ 
session of those which struck, because the batteries 
on Amak Island protected them ; and because an 
irregular fire was kept up from the ships them¬ 
selves as the boats approached. This arose from 
the nature of the action : the crews were continu¬ 
ally reinforced from the shore : and fresh men com¬ 
ing on board, did not inquire whether the flag had 
been struck, or, perhaps, did not heed it; many 
or most of them never having been engaged in w T ar 
before,—knowing nothing, therefore, of its laws, 
and thinking only of defending their country to 
the last extremity. The Danbrog fired upon the 
Elephant’s boats in this manner, though her com¬ 
modore had removed her pendant and deserted her, 
though she had struck, and though she was in 
flames. After she had been abandoned by the 
commodore, Braun fought her till he lost his right 
hand, and then Capt. Lemming took the command. 
This unexpected renewal of her fire made the Ele¬ 
phant and Glatton renew theirs, till she was not 
only silenced, but nearly every man in the praams, 
ahead and astern of her, was killed. When the 


LIFE OF KELSON. 


252 LIFE OF NELSON. [1801. 

smoke of their guns died away, she was seen drift¬ 
ing in flames before the wind : those of her crew 
who remained alive and able to exert themselves 
throwing themselves out at her port-holes. Captain 
Bertie of the Ardent sent his launch to their assist¬ 
ance, and saved three-and-twenty of them. 

Captain Rothe commanded the Nyeborg praam ; 
and, perceiving that she could not much longer be 
kept afloat^made for the inner road. As he passed 
the line, he found the Aggershuus praam in a more 
miserable condition than his own ; her masts had all 
gone by the board, and she was on the point of 
sinking. Rothe made fast a cable to her stern, and 
towed her off: but he could get her no further than 
a shoal called Stubben, when she sunk, and soon 
after he had worked the Nyeborg up to the landing- 
place, that vessel also sunk to her gunwale. Never 
did any vessel come out of action in a more dread¬ 
ful plight. The stump of her foremast was the only 
stick standing; her cabin had been stove in; every 
gun, except a single one, was dismounted; and her 
deck was covered with shattered limbs and dead 
bodies. 

By half-past two the action had ceased along 
that part of the line which was astern of the Ele¬ 
phant, but not with the ships ahead and the Crown 
Batteries. Nelson seeing the manner in which his 
boats were fired upon, when they went to take pos¬ 
session of the prizes, became angry, and said, he 
must either send on shore to have this irregular pro¬ 
ceeding stopped, or send a fire-ship and burn them. 
Half the shot from the Trekroner, and from the bat¬ 
teries at Amak, at this time, struck the surrendered 
ships, four of which had got close together ; and 
the fire of the English, in return, was equally or 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


253 



1801.] 

even more destructive to these poor devoted Danes. 
Nelson, >vho was as humane as he was brave, w T as 
shocked at this massacre—for such he called it: 
and with a presence of mind peculiar to himself, 
and never more signally displayed than now, he 
retired into the stern-gallery, and wrote thus to the 
Crown Prince :—“ Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson has 
been commanded to spare Denmark when she no 
longer resists. The line of defence which covered 
her shores has struck to the British flag: but if 
the firing is continued on the part of Denmark, he 
must set on fire all the prizes that he has taken, 
without having the power of saving the men who 
have so nobly defended them. The brave Danes are 
the brothers, and should never be the enemies of the 


English.” A wafer was given him ; but he ordered 
a candle to be brought from the cock-pit, and sealed 

































254 LIFE OF NELSON. [1801 

the letter with wax, affixing a larger seal than he 
ordinarily used. “ This,” said he, “ is no time to 
appear hurried and informal.” Captain Sir Frederic 
Thesiger, who acted as his aide-de-camp, carried 
this letter with a flag of truce. Meantime the fire 
of the ships ahead, and the approach of the Ra- 
millies and Defence from Sir Hyde’s division, which 
had now worked near enough to alarm the enemy, 
though not to injure them, silenced the remainder 
of the Danish line to the eastward of the Tre- 
kroner. That battery, however, continued its fire. 
This formidable work, owing to the want of the 
ships which had been destined to attack it, and 
the inadequate force of Riou’s little squadron, was 
comparatively uninjured : towards the close of the 
action it had been manned with nearly fifteen hun¬ 
dred men; and the intention of storming it, for 
which every preparation had been made, was aban¬ 
doned as impracticable. 

During Thesfger’s absence, Nelson sent for Free- 
mantle, from the Ganges, and consulted with him 
and Foley, whether it was advisable to advance, 
with those ships which had sustained least damage, 
against the yet uninjured part of the Danish line. 
They were decidedly of opinion, that the best thing 
which could be done was, while the wind continued 
fair, to remove the fleet out of the intricate chan¬ 
nel, from which it had to retreat. In somewhat 
more than half an hour after Thesiger had been 
despatched, the Danish Adjutant-General Lindholm 
came, bearing a flag of truce, upon which the 
Trckroner ceased to fire, and the action closed, 
after four hours’ continuance. He brought an in¬ 
quiry from the prince.—What w T as the object of 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801.J 


255 


Nelson’s note ? The British admiral wrote in reply : 
“ Lord Nelson’s object in sending the flag of truce 
was humanity : he therefore consents that hostilities 
shall cease, and that the wounded Danes may be 
taken on shore. And Lord Nelson will take his 
prisoners out of the vessels, and burn or carry off his 
prizes as he shall think fit. Lord Nelson, with 
humble duty to his royal highness the prince, will 
consider this the greatest victory he has ever gained, 
if it may be the cause of a happy reconciliation and 
union between his own most gracious sovereign and 
his majesty the King of Denmark.”—Sir Frederic 
Thesiger was despatched a second time with the 
reply; and the Danish adjutant-general was referred to 
the commander-in-chief for a conference upon this 
overture. Lindholm, assenting to tlife, proceeded to 
the London, which was riding at anchor full four 
miles oft’; and Nelson, losing not one of the critical 
moments which he had thus gained, made signal for 
his leading ships to weigh in succession :—they had 
the shoal to clear, they were much crippled, and 
their course was immediately under the guns of the 
Trekroner. 

The Monarch led the way. This ship had re 
ceived six-and-twenty shot between wind and water. 
She had not a shroud standing ; there was a double¬ 
headed shot in the heart of her foremast, and the 
slightest wind would have sent every mast* over 
her side. The imminent danger from which Nelson 


* It would have been well if the fleet, before they went 
under the batteries, had left their spare spars moored out of 
reach of shot. Many would have been saved which were 
destroyed lying on the booms, and the hurt done by their 
splinters would have been saved also. Small craft could have 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


256 


[1801. 


had extricated himself soon became apparent: the 
Monarch touched immediately upon a shoal, over 
which she was pushed by the Ganges taking her 
amidships ; the Glatton went clear; but the other 
two, the Defiance and the Elephant, grounded about 
a mile from the Trekroner, and there remained fixed, 
for many hours, in spite of all the exertions of their 
wearied crews. The Desiree frigate also, at the 
other end of the line, having gone toward the close 
of the action to assist the Bellona, became fast on 
the same shoal. Nelson left the Elephant, soon 
after she took the ground, to follow Lindholm. 
The heat of action was over, and that kind of 
feeling, which the surrounding scene of havoc was 
so well fitted to produce, pressed heavily upon his 
exhausted spirits. The sky had suddenly become 
overcast ; white flags were waving from the mast¬ 
heads of so many shattered ships :—the slaughter 
had ceased, but the grief was to come; for the 
account of the dead was not yet made up, and no 
man could tell for what friends he might have to 
mourn. The very silence which follows the cessa¬ 
tion of such a battle becomes a weight upon the 
heart at first, rather than a relief; and though the 
work of mutual destruction was at an end, the Dan- 
brog was, at this time, drifting about in flames : 
presently she blew up; while our boats, which had 
put off in all directions to assist her, were endea¬ 
vouring to pick up her devoted crew, few of whom 
could be saved. The fate of these men, after the 


towed them up when they were required : and, after such an action, 
so many must necessarily he wanted, that, if those which were not 
in use were wounded, it might have rendered it impossible to refit 
the ships. 




LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801.] LIFE OF NELSON. 257 

gallantry which they had displayed particularly 
affected Nelson : for there was nothing in this action 
of that indignation against the enemy, and that 
impression of retributive justice, which at the Nile 
had given a sterner temper to his mind, and a sense 
of austere delight, in beholding the vengeance of 
which he was the appointed minister. The Danes 
were an honourable foe; they were of English 
mould as well as English blood ; and now that the 
battle had ceased, he regarded them rather as 
brethren than as enemies. There was another re¬ 
flection also, which mingled with these melancholy 
thoughts, and predisposed him to receive them. 
He was not here master of his own movements, as 
at Egypt; he had won the day by disobeying his 
orders; and in so far as he had been successful, 
had convicted the commander-in-chief of an error 
in judgment. “ Well,” said he, as he left the Ele¬ 
phant, “ I have fought contrary to orders, and I 
shall perhaps be hanged. Never mind : let them !” 

This was the language of a man who, while he 
is giving utterance to an uneasy thought, clothes 
it half in jest, because he half repents that it has 
been disclosed. His services had been too eminent 
on that day, his judgment too conspicuous, his 
success too signal, for any commander, however 
jealous of his own authority, or envious of another’s 
merits, to express anything but satisfaction and 
gratitude: which Sir Hyde heartily felt, and sin¬ 
cerely expressed. It was speedily agreed that there 
should be a suspension of hostilities for four-and- 
twenty hours; that all the prizes should be surren¬ 
dered, and the wounded Danes carried on shore. 
There was a pressing necessity for this; for the 


258 LIFE OF NELSON. £1301. 

Danes, either from too much confidence in the 
stiength of their position, and the difficulty of the 
channel ; or supposing that the wounded might be 
carried on shore during* the action, which was found 
totally impracticable ; or, perhaps, from the confu¬ 
sion which the attack excited—had provided no 
surgeons: so that, when our men boarded the 
captured ships, they found many of the mangled 
and mutilated Danes bleeding to death, for want 
of proper assistance : a scene, of all others, the most 
shocking to a brave man’s feelings. 

The boats of Sir Hyde’s division were actively 
employed all night in bringing out the prizes, and 
in getting afloat the ships which were on shore. At 
daybreak, Nelson, who had slept in his own ship, 
the St. George, rowed to the Elephant; and his 
delight at finding her afloat seemed to give him 
new life. There ne took a hasty breakfast, prais¬ 
ing the men for their exertions, and then pushed off 
to the prizes, which had not yet been removed. 
The Zealand, seventy-four, the last which struck, 
had drifted on the shoal under the Trekroner; and 
relying, as it seems, upon the protection which that 
battery might have afforded, refused to acknowledge 
herself captured; saying, that though it was true 
her flag was not to he seen, her pendant was still 
flying. Nelson ordered one of our brigs and three 
long-boats to approach her, and rowed up himself 
to one of the enemy’s ships, to communicate with 
the commodore. This officer proved to be an old 
acquaintance, whom he had known in the West 
Indies: so he invited himself on board ; and, with 
that urbanity, as well as decision, which always 
characterised him, urged his claim to the Zealand 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801.] 


259 


so well, that it was admitted. The men from the 
boats lashed a cable round her bowsprit, and the 
gun-vessel towed her away. It is affirmed, and 
probably with truth, that the Danes felt more pain 
at beholding this, than at all their misfortunes on 
the preceding day: and one of the officers, Com¬ 
modore Steen Bille, went to the Trekroner battery, 
and asked the commander why he had not sunk 
the Zealand, rather than suffer her thus to be car¬ 
ried off by the enemy ? 

This was, indeed, a mournful day for Copen¬ 
hagen ! It was Good Friday ; but the general agi¬ 
tation, and the mourning which was in every house, 
made all distinction of days be forgotten. There 
were, at that hour, thousands in that city, who 
felt, and more, perhaps, who needed, the consola¬ 
tions of Christianity;—but few or none who could 
be calm enough to think of its observances. The 
English were actively employed in refitting their 
own ships, securing the prizes, and distributing the 
prisoners; the Danes, in carrying on shore and 
disposing of the wounded and the dead.—It had 
been a murderous action. Our loss, in killed and 
wounded, was nine hundred and fifty-three. Part 
of this slaughter might have been spared. The 
commanding officer of the troops on board one of 
our ships asked where his men should be stationed ? 
He was told that they could be of no use! that 
they were not near enough for musketry, and were 
not wanted at the guns ; they had, therefore, better 
go below. This, he said, was impossible,—it would 
be a disgrace that could never be wiped away. 
They were, therefore, drawn up upon the gangway, 
to satisfy this cruel point of honour; and there, 

s 2 


Q60 LIFE OF NELSON. j_180I. 

without the possibility of annoying the enemy, they 
were mowed down ! The loss of the Danes, in¬ 
cluding prisoners, amounted to about six thousand. 
The negotiations, meantime, went on ; and it was 
agreed that Nelson should have an interview with 
the prince the following day. Hardy and Free- 
mantle landed with him. This was a thing as 
unexampled as the other circumstances of the 
battle. A strong guard was appointed to escort 
him to the palace, as much for the purpose of 
security as of honour. The populace, according to 
the British account, showed a mixture of admira¬ 
tion, curiosity, and displeasure, at beholding that 
man in the midst of them who had inflicted such 
wounds upon Denmark. But there were neither 
acclamations nor murmurs. tc The people,” says 
a Dane, “ did not degrade themselves with the 
former, nor disgrace themselves with the latter: 
the admiral was received as one brave enemy ever 
ought to receive another;—he was received with 
respect.” The preliminaries of the negotiation 
were adjusted at this interview. During the repast 
which followed, Nelson, with all the sincerity of 
his character, bore willing testimony to the valour * 
of his foes. He told the prince that he had been 
in a hundred and five engagements, but that this 
was the most tremendous of all. “The French,” 
he said, “ fought bravely ; but they could not have 
stood for one hour the fight which the Danes had 
supported for four.” He requested that Villemoes 
might be introduced to him ,• and, shaking hands 
with the youth, told the prince that he ought to 
be made an admiral. The prince replied : “ If, my 
lord, I am to make all my brave officers admirals, 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801.] LIFE OF NELSON. 261 

I should have no captains or lieutenants m my 


service. 

The sympathy of the Danes for their country¬ 
men, who had bled in their defence, was not 
weakened by distance of time or place in this 
instance. Things needful for the service, or the 
comfort of the wounded, were sent in profusion to 
the hospitals, till the superintendants gave public 
notice that they could receive no more. On the 
third day after the action, the dead were buried in 
the naval churchyard : the ceremony was made as 
public and as solemn as the occasion required;— 
such a procession had never before been seen in 
that, or, perhaps, in any other city. A public 
monument was erected upon the spot where the 
slain were gathered together. A. subscription was 
opened on the day of the funeral for the relief of 
the sufferers, and collections in aid of it made 
throughout all the churches in the kingdom. This 
appeal to the feelings of the people was made with 
circumstances which gave it full effect. A monu¬ 
ment was raised in the midst of the church, sur¬ 
mounted by the Danish colours: young maidens, 
dressed in white, stood round it, with either one who 
had been wounded in the battle, or the widow and 
orphans of some one who had fallen : a suitable 
oration was delivered from the pulpit, and patriotic 
hymns and songs were afterwards performed. Me¬ 
dals were distributed to all the officers, and to the 
men who had distinguished themselves. Poets 
and painters vied with each other in celebrating 
a battle which, disastrous as it was, had yet been 
honourable to their country: some, with pardonable 
sophistry, represented the advantage of the day as 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


262 


[ 1801 . 


on their own side. One writer discovered a more 
curious, but less disputable ground of satisfaction, 
in the reflection, that Nelson, as may be inferred 
from his name, was of Danish descent, and his 
actions, therefore, the Dane argued, were attribu¬ 
table to Danish valour. 

The negotiation was continued during the five 
following days; and, in that interval, the prizes 
were disposed of, in a manner which was little 
approved by Nelson. Six line-of-battle ships and 
eight praams had been taken. Of these the Hol¬ 
stein, sixty-four, was the only one which was sent 
home. The Zealand was a finer ship : but the 
Zealand, and all the others, were burned, and their 
brass battering cannon sunk with the hulls in such 
shoal water, that, when the fleet returned from 
Revel, they found the Danes, with craft over the 
wrecks, employed in getting the guns up again. 
Nelson, though he forbore from any public expres- 
sion of displeasure at seeing the proofs and trophies 
of his victory destroyed, did not forget to represent 
to the Admiralty the case of those who were thus 
deprived of their prize-money. 44 Whether,” said 
lie to Earl St. Vincent, 44 Sir Hyde Parker may 
mention the subject to you, I know not ; for he is 
rich and does not want it: nor is it, you will be¬ 
lieve me, any desire to get a few hundred pounds 
that actuates me to address this letter to you ; but 
justice to the brave officers and men who fought on 
that day. It is true our opponents were in hulks 
and floats, only adapted for the position they were 
in; but that made our battle so much the harder, 
and victory so much the more difficult to obtain. 
Believe me, I have weighed all circumstances; 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801 .] 


263 


and, in my conscience, Ithink that the king should 
send a gracious message to the house of commons 
for a gift to this fleet: for what must be the natu¬ 
ral feelings of the officers and men belonging to it, 
to see their rich commander-in-chief burn all the 
fruits of their victory,—which if fitted up and sent 
to England, (as many of' them might have been by 
dismantling part of our fleet,) would have sold for 
a good round sum.” 

On the 9th Nelson landed - again, to conclude 
the terms of the armistice. During its continuance 
the armed ships and vessels of Denmark were to 
remain in their then actual situation, as to arma¬ 
ment, equipment, and hostile position ; and the 
treaty of armed neutrality, as far as related to the 
co-operation of Denmark, was suspended. The 
prisoners were to be sent on shore; an acknowl¬ 
edgment being given for them, and for the 
wounded also, that they might be carried to Great 
Britain’s credit in the account of war, in case hos¬ 
tilities should be renewed. The British fleet was 
allowed to provide itself with all things requisite 
for the health and comfort of its men. A difficulty 
arose respecting the duration of the armistice. 
The Danish commissioners fairly stated their fears 
of Russia; and Nelson, with- that frankness which 
sound policy and the sense of power seem often to 
require as well as justify in diplomacy, told them, 
his reason for demanding a long term was, that he 
might have time to act against the Russian fleet, 
and then return to Copenhagen. Neither party 
would yield upon this point; and one of the Danes 
hinted at the renewal of hostilities. “ Renew hos¬ 
tilities !” cried Nelson to one of his friends,—for 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


964 


[ 1501 . 


he understood French enough to comprehend what 
was said, though not to answer it in the same lan¬ 
guage ;—“ tell him we are ready at a moment!— 
Ready to bombard this very night!”—The confe¬ 
rence, however, proceeded amicably on both sides; 
and as the commissioners could not agree upon this 
head, they broke up, leaving Nelson to settle it 
with the prince. A levee was held forthwith in 
one of the state rooms; a scene well suited for 
such a consultations for all these rooms had been 
stripped of their furniture, in fear of a bombardment. 
To a bombardment also Nelson was looking at this 
time: fatigue and anxiety, and vexation at the 
dilatory measures of the commander-in-chief, com¬ 
bined to make him irritable: and as he was on the 
way to the prince’s dining-room, he whispered to 
the officer oh whose arm he was leaning, “ Though 
I have only one eye, I can see that all this will burn 
well.” After dinner lie was closeted with the 
prince; and they agreed that the armistice should 
continue fourteen w T eeks ; and that, at its termina¬ 
tion, fourteen days’ notice should be given before 
the recommencement of hostilities. 

An official account of the battle was published 
by Olfert Fischer, the Danish commander-in-chief, 
in which it was asserted that our force was greatly 
superior; nevertheless, that two of our ships of the 
line had struck ; that the others were so weakened, 
and especially Lord Nelson’s own ship, as to fire 
only single shots for an hour before the end of the 
action ; and that this hero himself, in the middle 
and very heat of the conflict, sent a flag of truce on 
shore, to propose a cessation of hostilities. For 
the truth of this account the Dane appealed to the 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801.] LIFE OF NELSON. 265 

prince, and all those who, like him, had been eye¬ 
witnesses of the scene. Nelson was exceedingly 
indignant at such a statement, and addressed a 
letter, in confutation of it, to the Adjutant-General 
Lindholm ; thinking this incumbent upon him, for 
the information of the prince, since his royal high¬ 
ness had been appealed to as a witness: 44 Other ¬ 
wise,” said he, 44 had Commodore Fischer confined 
himself to his own veracity, I should have treated 
his official letter with the contempt i-t deserved, and 
allowed the world to appreciate the merits of the 
two contending officers.” After pointing out and 
detecting some of the misstatements in the account, 
he proceeds : 44 As to his nonsense about victory, 
his royal highness will not much credit him. I 
sunk, burnt, captured, or drove into the harbour, 
the whole line of defence to the southward of the 
Crown Islands. He says he is told that two Bri¬ 
tish ships struck. Why did he not take possession 
of them ? I took possession of his as fast as they 
struck. The reason is clear, that he did not be¬ 
lieve it: he must have known the falsity of the 
report.—He states, that the ship in which I had 
the honour to hoist my flag fired latterly only 
single guns. It is true : for steady and cool were 
my brave fellows, and did not wish to throw away 
a single shot. He seems to exult that I sent on 
shore a flag of truce.—You know, and his royal 
highness knows, that the guns fired from the shore 
could only fire through the Danish ships which 
had surrendered; and that, if I fired at the shore, 
it could only be in the same manner. God forbid 
that I should destroy an unresisting Dane ! When 
they became my prisoners, I became their protector/ 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


266 


[ 1801 . 


This letter was written in terms of great asperity 
against the Danish commander. Lindholm replied 
in a manner every way honourable to himself. He 
vindicated the commodore in some points, and ex¬ 
cused him in others; reminding Nelson, that every 
commander-in-chief was liable to receive incorrect 
reports. With a natural desire to represent the 
action in the most favourable light to Denmark, lie 
took into the comparative strength of the two par¬ 
ties the ships which were aground, and which could 
not get into action; and omitted the Trekroner 
and the batteries upon Amak Island. He dis¬ 
claimed all idea of claiming as a victory, “ what, to 
every intent and purpose,” said he, “ was a defeat, 
—but not an inglorious one. As to your lordship’s 
motive for sending a flag of truce, it never can be 
misconstrued; and your subsequent conduct has 
sufficiently shown that humanity is always the 
companion of true valour. You have done more; 
you have shown yourself a friend to the re-establish¬ 
ment of peace and good harmony between this 
country and Great Britain. It is, therefore, with 
the sincerest esteem I shall always feel myself at¬ 
tached to your lordship.” Thus handsomely wind¬ 
ing up his reply, he soothed and contented Nelson; 
who, drawing up a memorandum of the compara¬ 
tive force of the two parties, for his own satisfac¬ 
tion, assured Lindholm, that if the commodore’s 
statement had been in the same manly and honour¬ 
able strain, he would have been the last man to 
have noticed any little inaccuracies which might get 
into a commander-in-chief’s public letter. 

For the battle of Copenhagen, Nelson was raised 
to the rank of viscount :—an inadequate mark of 


LIFE OF KELSON. 


1S01.]] LIFE OF KELSON. 267 

reward for services so splendid and of such para¬ 
mount importance to the dearest interests of Eng¬ 
land. There was, however, some prudence in deal¬ 
ing out honours to him step by step : had he lived 
long enough, he would have fought his way up to a 
dukedom. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

Sir Hyde Parker is recalled, and Nelson appointed Commander— 
He goes to Revel—Settlement of Affairs in the Baltic—Unsuc¬ 
cessful Attempt upon the Flotilla at Boulogne—Peace of 
Amiens—Nelson takes the command in the Mediterranean on 
the renewal of the War—Escape of the Toulon Fleet—Nelson 
chases them to the West Indies, and back—Delivers up his 
Squadron to Admiral Cornwallis, and lands in England 

When Nelson informed Earl St. Vincent that the 
armistice had been concluded, he told him also, 
without reserve, his own discontent at the dilatori¬ 
ness and indecision which he witnessed, and could 
not remedy. “ No man,” said he, “ hut those who 
are on the spot, can tell what I have gone through, 
and do suffer. I make no scruple in saying, that I 
would have been at Revel fourteen days ago ! that, 
without this armistice, the fleet would never have 
gone, but by order of the Admiralty : and with it, 
I dare say, we shall not go this week. I wanted 
Sir Hyde to let me, at least, go and cruise off 
Carlscrona, to prevent the Revel ships from getting- 
in. I said I would not go to Revel to take any 
of those laurels which I was sure he would reap 
there. Think for me, my dear lord ;—and if I 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


268 


[1801. 


have deserved well, let me return: if ill, for 
Heaven’s sake supersede me,—for I cannot exist 
in this state.” 

Fatigue, incessant anxiety, and a climate little 
suited to one of a tender constitution, which had 
now for many years been accustomed to more 
genial latitudes, made him at this time seriously 
determine upon returning home. u If the northern 
business were not settled,” he said, “ they must 
send more admirals; for the keen air of the north 
had cut him to the heart.” He felt the want of 
activity and decision in the commander-in-chief 
more keenly; and this affected his spirits, and, 
consequently, his health, more than the inclemency 
of the Baltic. Soon after the armistice was signed, 
Sir Hyde proceeded to the eastward, with such 
ships as were fit for service, leaving Nelson to follow 
with the rest, as soon as those which had received 
slight damages should be repaired, and the rest 
sent to England. In passing between the isles of 
Amak and Saltholm, most of the ships touched 
the ground, and some of them stuck fast for a 
while: no serious injury, however, was sustained. 
It was intended to act against the Russians first, 
before the breaking up of the frost should enable 
them to leave Revel; but learning on the way that 
the Swedes had put to sea to effect a junction with 
them, Sir Hyde altered his course, in hopes of in¬ 
tercepting this part of the enemy’s force. Nelson 
had, at this time, provided for the more pressing 
emergencies of the service, and prepared, on the 
18th, to follow the fleet. The St. George drew too 
much water to pass the channel between the isles 
without being lightened: the guns were therefore 


1801.] LIFE OF NELSON. 269 

taken out, and put on board an American vessel: 
a contrary wind, however, prevented Nelson from 
moving ; and on that same evening, while he was 
thus delayed, information reached him of the relative 
situation of the Swedish and British fleets, and the 
probability of an action. The fleet was nearly ten 
leagues distant, and both wind and current con¬ 
trary ; but it was not possible that Nelson could 
wait for a favourable season under such an expec¬ 
tation. He ordered his boat immediately, and step¬ 
ped into it. Night was setting in,—one of the cold 
spring nights of the North, and it was discovered, 
soon after they had left the ship, that in their haste 
they had forgotten to provide him with a boat-cloak. 
He, however, forbade them to return for one; and 
when one of his companions offered his own great¬ 
coat, and urged him to make use of it, he replied, 
“ I thank you very much,—but, to tell you the 
truth, my anxiety keeps me sufficiently warm at 
present.” 

“ Do you think,” said he presently, “ that our 
fleet has quitted Bornholm ? If it has, we must fol¬ 
low it to Carlscrona.” About midnight he reached 
it, and once more got on board the Elephant. On 
the following morning the Swedes were discovered ; 
as soon, however, as they perceived the English 
approaching, they retired, and took shelter in 
Carlscrona, behind the batteries on the island, at 
the entrance of that port. Sir Hyde sent in a flag 
of truce, stating that Denmark had concluded an 
armistice, and requiring an explicit declaration from 
the court of Sweden, Whether it would adhere to, 
or abandon the hostile measures which it had taken 
against the rights and interests of Great Britain ? 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


270 LIFE OF NELSON. [1801. 

The commander, Vice-Admiral Cronstadt, replied, 
u That he could not answer a question which did 
not come within the particular circle of his duty ; 
but that the king was then at Maloo, and would 
soon be at Carlscrona.” Gustavus shortly after¬ 
wards arrived, and an answer was then returned to 
this effect : “ That his Swedish majesty would not, 
for a moment, fail to fulfil, with fidelity and sin¬ 
cerity, the engagements he had entered into with his 
allies ; but he would not refuse to listen to equitable 
proposals made by deputies furnished with proper 
authority by the King of Great Britain to the united 
northern powers.” Satisfied with this answer, and 
with the known disposition of the Swedish court, 
Sir Hyde sailed for the Gulf of Finland ; but he 
had not proceeded far before a despatch boat, from 
the Russian ambassador at Copenhagen, arrived, 
bringing intelligence of the death of the emperor Paul; 
and that his successor Alexander had accepted the 
offer made by England to his father, of terminating 
the dispute by a convention : the British admiral 
was, therefore, required to desist from all further 
hostilities.” 

It was Nelson’s maxim, that, to negotiate with 
effect, force should be at hand, and in a situation 
to act. The fleet, having been reinforced from 
England, amounted to eighteen sail of the line ; 
and the wind was fair for Revel. There he would 
have sailed immediately to place himself between 
that division of the Russian fleet and the squadron 
at Cronstadt, in case this offer should prove insin¬ 
cere. Sir Hyde, on the other hand, believed that 
the death of Paul had effected all which was ne¬ 
cessary. The manner of that death, indeed, ren- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801.] LIFE OF NELSON. 271 

dered it apparent that a change of policy would 
take place in the cabinet of Petersburgh :—hut 
Nelson never trusted anything to the uncertain 
events of time, which could possibly be secured by 
promptitude or resolution. It was not, therefore, 
without severe mortification, that he saw the com¬ 
mander-in-chief return to the coast of Zealand, and 
anchor in Kioge Bay, there to wait patiently for 
what might happen. 

There the fleet remained, till despatches arrived 
from home, on the 5th of May, recalling Sir Hyde, 
and appointing Nelson commander-in-chief. 

Nelson wrote to Earl St. Vincent that he was 
unable to hold this honourable station. Admiral 
Graves also was so ill, as to be confined to his bed ; 
and he entreated that some person might come out 
and take the command. “ I will endeavour," said 
he, “ to do my best while I remain : but, my dear 
lord, I shall either soon go to heaven, I hope, or 
must rest quiet for a time. If Sir Hyde were gone, 
I w’ould now be under sail." On the day when 
this was written, he received news of his appoint¬ 
ment. Not a moment was now lost. His first 
signal, as commander-in-chief, was to hoist in all 
launches, and prepare to weigh : and on the 7th he 
sailed from Kioge. Part of his fleet was left at 
Bornholm, to watch the Swedes : from whom he 
required and obtained an assurance, that the British 
trade in the Cattegat, and in the Baltic, should 
not be molested; and saying how unpleasant it 
would be to him if anything should happen which 
might, for a moment, disturb the returning harmony 
between Sweden and Great Britain, he apprised 
them that he was not directed to abstain from hos- 


272 LIFE OF NELSON. * [i80i. 

tilities should he meet with the Swedish fleet at 
sea. Meantime, he himself, with ten sail of the 
line, two frigates, a brig, and a schooner, made for 
the Gulf of Finland. Paul, in one of the freaks of 
his tyranny, had seized upon all the British effects 
in Russia, and even considered British subjects as 
his prisoners. “ I will have all the English ship¬ 
ping and property restored," said Nelson, “ but I 
will do nothing violently,—neither commit the affairs 
of my country, nor suffer Russia to mix the affairs 
of Denmark or Sweden with the detention of our 
ships." The wind was fair, and carried him in four 
days to Revel Roads. But the Bay had been clear 
of firm ice on the 29th of April, while the English 
were lying idly at Kioge. The Russians had cut 
through the ice in the mole six feet thick, and their 
whole squadron had sailed for Cronstadt on the 
third. Before that time it had lain at the mercy of 
the English.—■“ Nothing," Nelson said, “if it had 
been right to make the attack, could have saved one 
ship of them in two hours after our entering the 
bay." 

It so happened that there was no cause to regret 
the opportunity which had been lost, and Nelson 
immediately put the intentions of Russia to the proof. 
He sent on shore, to say, that he came with friendly 
views, and was ready to return a salute. On their 
part the salute was delayed, till a message w’as sent 
to them to inquire for what reason : and the officer, 
whose neglect had occasioned the delay, w T as put 
under arrest. Nelson wrote to the emperor, pro¬ 
posing to wait on him personally, and congratulate 
him on his accession, and urged the immediate re¬ 
lease of British subjects, and restoration of British 
property. 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801 .] 


273 


The answer arrived on the 16th : Nelson, mean¬ 
time, had exchanged visits with the governor, and 
the most friendly intercourse had subsisted between 
the ships and the shore. Alexander’s ministers, in 
their reply, expressed their surprise at the arrival 
of a British fleet in a Russian port, and their wish 
that it should return : they professed, on the part 
of Russia, the most friendly disposition towards 
Great Britain; but declined the personal visit of 
Lord Nelson, unless he came in a. single ship. 
There was a suspicion implied in this, which stung 
Nelson : and he said the Russian ministers would 
never have written thus if their fleet had been at 
Revel. He wrote an immediate reply, expressing 
what he felt: he told the court of Petersburgh, 
u That the word of a British admiral, when given 
in explanation of any part of his conduct, was as 
sacred as that of any sovereign’s in Europe.” And 
he repeated, “ that, under other circumstances, it 
would have been his anxious wish to have paid his 
personal respects to the emperor, and signed with 
his own hand the act of amity between the two 
countries.” Having despatched this, he stood out 
to sea immediately, leaving a brig to bring off the 
provisions which had been contracted for, and to 
settle the accounts. “ I hope all is right,” said he, 
writing to our ambassador at Berlin : “ but seamen 
are but bad negotiators; for we put to issue in five 
minutes what diplomatic forms Would be five months 
doing.” 

On his wav down the Baltic, however, he met the 
Russian admiral Tchitchagof, whom the emperor, 
in reply to Sir Hyde’s overtures, had sent to com¬ 
municate personally with the British commander- 

T 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


274 


[ 1801 . 


in-chief. The reply was such as had been wished 
and expected: and these negotiators going, sea¬ 
man-like, straight to their object, satisfied each 
other of the friendly intentions of their respective 
governments. Nelson then anchored off Rostock : 
and there he received an anwer to his last de¬ 
spatch from Revel, in which the Russian court 
expressed their regret that there should have been 
any misconception between them; informed him, 
that the British vessels which Paul had detained 
were ordered to be liberated, and invited him to 
Petersburgh in whatever mode might be most agree¬ 
able to himself. Other honours awaited him :— 
the Duke of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, the queen’s 
brother, came to visit him on board his ship ; and 
towns of the inland parts of Mecklenburgh sent 
deputations, with their public books of record, that 
they might have the name of Nelson in them written 
by his own hand. 

From Rostock the fleet returned to Kioge Bay. 
Nelson saw that the temper of the Danes towards 
England was such as naturally arose from the chas¬ 
tisement which they had so recently received. 44 In 
this nation,” said he, 44 we shall not be forgiven 
for having the upper hand of them :—I only thank. 
God we have, or they would try to humble us to the 
dust.” He saw also that the Danish cabinet was 
completely subservient to France: a French officer 
was at this time the companion and counsellor of 
the Crown Prince ; and things were done in such 
open violation of the armistice, that Nelson thought 
a second infliction of vengeance would soon be 
necessary. He wrote to the admiralty, requesting 
a clear and explicit reply to his inquiry, Whether 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801.] LIFE OF NELSON. 275 

the commander-in-chief was at liberty to hold the 
language becoming a British admiral ?—“ Which, 
very probably,” said he, “ if I am here, will break 
the armistice, and set Copenhagen in a blaze.— 
I see everything which is dirty and mean going 
on, and the Prince Royal at the head of it. Ships 
have been masted, guns taken on board, floating 
batteries prepared, and, except hauling out and 
completing their rigging, everything is done in 
defiance of the treaty.—My heart burns at seeing 
the w T ord of a prince, nearly allied to our good 
king, so falsified: but his conduct is such, that he 
will lose his kingdom if he goes on; for Jacobins 
rule in Denmark. I have made no representations 
yet, as it would be useless to do so until I have the 
power of correction. All I beg, in the name of 
the future commander-in-chief is, that the orders 
may be clear; for enough is done to break twenty 
treaties, if it should be wished, or to make the 
Prince Royal humble himself before British gene¬ 
rosity.” 

Nelson was not deceived in his judgment of the 
Danish cabinet, but the battle of Copenhagen had 
crippled its power. The death of the Czar Paul 
had broken the confederacy: and that cabinet, 
therefore, was compelled to defer, till a more con¬ 
venient season, the indulgence of its enmity towards 
Great Britain. Soon afterwards Admiral Sir Charles 
Maurice Pole arrived to take the command. The 
business, military and political, had by that time 
been so far completed, that the presence of the 
British fleet soon became no longer necessary. Sir 
Charles, however, made the short time of his com¬ 
mand memorable, by passing the great Belt, for 

t 2 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


275 LIFE OF NELSON. [1801. 

the first time, with line-of-battle ships; working 
through the channel against adverse winds. When 
Nelson left the fleet, this speedy termination of the 
expedition, though confidently expected, was not 
certain ; and he, in his unwillingness to weaken 
the British force, thought at one time of traversing 
Jutland in his boat, by the canal to Tonningen 
on the Eyder, and finding his way home from 
thence. This intention was not executed : but lie 
returned in a brig, declining to accept a frigate ; 
which few admirals would have done; especially if, 
like him, they suffered from sea-sickness in a small 
vessel. On his arrival at Yarmouth, the first thing 
he did was to visit the hospital, and see the men 
who had been wounded in the late battle :—that 
victory, which had added new glory to the name 
of Nelson, and which was of more importance 
even than the battle of the Nile to the honour, 
the strength, and security of England. 

The feelings of Nelson’s friends, upon the news 
of his great victory at Copenhagen, were highly 
described by Sir William Hamilton, in a letter to 
him. “We can only expect,” he says, “what we 
know well, and often said before, that Nelson was, 
is, and to the last will ever be, the first. Emma 
did not know whether she was on her head or heels, 
—in such a hurry to tell your great news, that she 
could utter nothing but tears of joy and tenderness. 
I went to Davison, and found him still in bed, 
having had a severe fit of the gout, and with your 
letter, which he had just received ; and he cried 
like a child : but what was very extraordinary, as¬ 
sured me that, from the instant he had read your 
letter, all pain had left him, and that he felt him- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801 .] 


277 


self able to get up and walk about. Your brother, 
Mrs. Kelson, and Horace dined with us. Your 
brother was more extraordinary than ever. He 
would get up suddenly, and cut a caper; rubbing 
his hands every time that the thought of your fresh 
laurels came into his head. In short, except myself 
(and your lordship knows that I have some phlegm), 
all the company, which was considerable after din¬ 
ner, were mad with joy. But I am sure that no 
one really rejoiced more at heart than I did. I have 
lived too long to have ecstasies! But with calm 
reflection, I felt for my friend having got to the very 
summit of glory! the neplus ultra ! that he has had 
another opportunity of rendering his country the most 
important service, and manifesting again his judg¬ 
ment, his intrepidity, and his humanity.” 

He had not been many weeks on shore before 
he was called upon to undertake a service, for 
which no Nelson was required. Buonaparte, who 
was now first consul, and in reality sole ruler, of 
France, was making preparations, upon a great 
scale, for invading England; but his schemes in 
the Baltic had been baffled; fleets could not be 
created as they were wanted; and his armies, 
therefore, were to come over in gun-boats, and 
such small craft as could be rapidly built or col¬ 
lected for the occasion. From the former govern¬ 
ments of France such threats have only been matter 
of insult and policy: in Buonaparte they were sin¬ 
cere : for this adventurer, intoxicated with success, 
already began to imagine that all things were to be 
submitted to his fortune. We had not at that 
time proved the superiority of our soldiers over the 
French; and the unreflecting multitude were not 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


278 LIFE OF NELSON. [l801. 

to be persuaded that an invasion could only be 
effected by numerous and powerful fleets. A general 
alarm was excited; and, in condescension to this 
unworthy feeling, Nelson was appointed to a com¬ 
mand, extending from Orfordness to Beacliy Head, 
on both shores;—a sort of service, he said, for which 
he felt no other ability than what might be found in 
his zeal. 

To this service, however, such as it was, he ap¬ 
plied with his wonted alacrity; though in no cheer¬ 
ful frame of mind. To Lady Hamilton, his only 
female correspondent, he says at this time,—“ 1 
am not in very good spirits; and except that our 
country demands all our services and abilities to 
bring about an honourable peace, nothing should 
prevent my being the bearer of my own letter. 
But, my dear friend, I know you are so true and 
loyal an Englishwoman, that you would hate those 
who would not stand forth in defence of our king, 
laws, religion, and all that is dear to us.—It is 
your sex that makes us go forth, and seem to tell 
us, ‘ None but the brave deserve the fair —and it 
we fall, we still live in the hearts of those females. 
It is your sex that rewards us, it is your sex who 
cherish our memories; and you, my dear honoured 
friend, are, believe me, the first , the best of your sex. 
I have been the world around, and in every corner 
of it, and never yet saw your equal, or even one 
who could be put in comparison with you. You 
know how to reward virtue, honour, and courage, 
and never to ask if it is placed in a prince, duke, 
lord, or peasant.” Having hoisted his flag in the 
Medusa frigate, he went to reconnoitre Boulogne; 
the point from which it was supposed the great 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1801.] LIFE OF NELSON. 279 

attempt would be made, and which the French, 
in fear of an attack themselves, were fortifyino- 
with all care. He approached near enough to sink 
two of their floating batteries, and to destroy a few 
gun-boats which were without the pier: what 
damage was done within could not he ascertained, 
“ Boulogne,” he said, “ was certainly not a very 
pleasant place that morning: — hut,” he added, 
“ it is not my wish to injure the poor inhabitants ; 
and the town is spared as much as the nature of 
the service will admit.” Enough was done to show 
the enemy that they could not, with impunity, come 
outside their own ports. Nelson was satisfied by 
what he saw, that they meant to make an attempt 
from this place, hut that it was impracticable; for 
the least wind at W. N. W. and they were lost. 
The ports of Flushing and Flanders were better 
points: there we could not tell by our eyes what 
means of transport were provided. From thence, 
therefore, if it came forth at all, the expedition would 
come:— u And what a forlorn undertaking!” said 
he : “ consider cross tides, &c. As for rowing, that 
is impossible. It is perfectly right to be prepared 
for a mad government; but with the active force 
which has been given me, I may pronounce it almost 
impracticable.” 

That force had been got together with an alacrity 
which has seldom been equalled. On the twenty- 
eighth of July, we were, in Nelson’s own words, 
literally at the foundation of our fabric of defence: 
and twelve days afterwards we were so prepared on 
the enemy’s coast, that he did not believe they could 
get three miles from their ports. The Medusa, 
returning to our own shores, anchored in the rolling 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


280 


I_1 SOI. 


ground off Harwich; and, when Nelson wished to 
get to the Nore in her, the wind rendered it impos¬ 
sible to proceed there by the usual channel. In 
haste to be at the Nore, remembering that he had 
been a tolerable pilot for the mouth of the Thames 
in his younger days, and thinking it necessary that 
he should know all that could be known of the 
navigation, he requested the maritime surveyor of 
the coast, Mr. Spence, to get him into the Swin, 
by any channel: for neither the pilots which he had 
on board, nor the Harwich ones, would take charge 
of the ship. No vessel drawing more than fourteen 
feet had ever before ventured over the Naze. Mr. 
Spence, however, who had surveyed the channel, 
carried her safely through. The channel has since 
been called Nelsons, though he himself wished it to 
be named after the Medusa: his name needed no new 
memorial. 

Nelson’s eye was upon Flushing, — 44 To take pos¬ 
session of that place," he said, 44 would be a week’s 
expedition for four or five thousand troops.” This, 
however, required a consultation with the admiralty ; 
and that something might be done meantime, he re¬ 
solved upon attacking the flotilla in the mouth of 
Boulogne harbour. This resolution was made in 

O # 

deference to the opinion of others, and to the pub¬ 
lic feeling which was so preposterously excited. 
He himself scrupled not to assert, that the French 
army would never embark at Boulogne for the in¬ 
vasion of England; and he owned, that this boat- 
warfare was not exactly congenial to his feelings. 
Into tleivoet or Flushing, he should be happy to 
lead, if government turned their thoughts that way. 
44 While I serve," said he, 44 1 will do it actively, 


1801.] LIFE OF NELSON. 281 

and to the very best of my abilities.—I require 
nursing like a child, 5 ' he added; “ my mind carries 
me beyond my strength, and will do me up :—but 
such is my nature.’ 5 

The attack was made by the boats of the squa¬ 
dron in five divisions, under Captains Somerville, 
Parker, Cotgrave, Jones, and Conn. The previous 
essay had taught the French the weak parts of their 
position; and they omitted no means of strengthen¬ 
ing it, and of guarding against the expected at¬ 
tempt. The boats put off about lialf-an-hour before 
midnight; but, owing to the darkness, and tide 
and half tide, which must always make night at¬ 
tacks so uncertain on the coasts of the channel, the 
divisions separated. One could not arrive at all; 
another not till near daybreak. The others made 
their attack gallantly; but the enemy were fully 
prepared : every vessel was defended by long poles, 
headed with iron spikes, projecting from their sides; 
strong nettings were braced up to their lower yards; 
they were moored by the bottom to the shore: * 
they were strongly manned with soldiers, and pro¬ 
tected by land batteries, and the shore was lined 
with troops. Many were taken possession of; and^ 


* In the former editions I had stated, upon what appeared 
authentic information, that the boats were chained one to ano¬ 
ther. Nelson himself believed this. But I have been assured 
that it was not the case, by M. de Bepcet, who, when I had 
the pleasure of seeing him in 1825, was (and I hope still is) 
Commandant of Boulogne. The word of this brave and loyal 
soldier is as little to be doubted as his worth. He is the last 
survivor of Charette's band ; and his own memoirs, could he be 
persuaded to write them (a duty which he owes to his country 
as well as to himself), would form a redeeming episode in the 
history of the Freuch Revolution 




LIFE OF NELSON. 


282 LIFE OF NELSON. [l801. 

though they could not have been brought out, 
would have been burned, had not the French resorted 
to a mode of offence, which they have often used, 
but which no other people have ever been wicked 
enough to employ. The moment the firing ceased 
on board one of their own vessels they fired upon 
it from the shore, perfectly regardless of their own 
men. 

The commander of one of the French divisions 
acted like a generous enemy. He hailed the boats 
as tney approached, and cried out in English : 
“ Let me advise you, my brave Englishmen, to keep 
your distance : you can do nothing here ; and it is 
only uselessly shedding the blood of brave men 
to make the attempt.” The French official account 
boasted of the victory. “ The combat,” it said, 
“ took place in sight of both countries; it was the 
first of the kind, and the historian would have 
cause to make this remark.” They guessed our loss 
at four or fi ve hundred :—it amounted to one hun¬ 
dred and seventy-two. In his private letters to the 
admiralty Nelson affirmed, that had our force ar¬ 
rived as he intended, it was not all the chains in 
France which could have prevented our men from 
bringing off the whole of the vessels. There had 
been no error committed, and never did English- 
men display more courage. Upon this point Nelson 
was fully satisfied; but he said he should never 
bring himself again to allow any attack, wherein he 
was not personally concerned; and that his mind 
suffered more than if he had had a leg shot off in 
the affair. He grieved particularly for Capt. Parker, 
—an excellent officer, to whom he was greatly at¬ 
tached, and who had an aged father looking to him 


1801.] LIFE OF NELSON. 2S3 

for assistance. His thigh was shattered in the ac¬ 
tion ; and the wound proved mortal, after some 
weeks of suffering and manly resignation. During 
this interval, Nelson’s anxiety was very great.— 
“ Dear Parker is my child,” said he; “ for I found 
him in distress.” And when he received the tidings 
of his death, he replied : — “ You will judge of my 
feelings: God’s will he done. I beg that his hair 
may be cut off and given me ;—it shall be buried in 
my grave. Poor Mr. Parker ! What a son has he 
lost ! If I were to say I was content, I should lie ; 
but I shall endeavour to submit with all the forti¬ 
tude in my power.—His loss has made a wound in 
my'heart, which time will hardly heal.” 

“ You ask me, my dear friend,” he says to Lady 
Hamilton, “ if I am going on more expeditions ? 
and even if I was to forfeit your friendship, which 
is dearer to me than all the world, I can tell you 
nothing. For, I go out : I see the enemy, and can get 
at them, it is my duty: and.you would naturally hate 
me, if 1 kept back one moment.—I long to pay 
them, for their tricks t’other day, the debt of a drub¬ 
bing, which surely I’ll pay: but when , where , or 
how , it is impossible, your own good sense must 
tell you, for me or mortal man to say.”—Yet he 
now wished to be relieved from this service. The 
country, he said, had attached a confidence to his 
name, which he had submitted to, and therefore 
had cheerfully repaired to the station;—but this 
boat business, though it might be part of a great 
plan of invasion, could never be the only one, and 
he did not think it was a command for a vice- 
admiral. It was not that he wanted a more lucrative 
situation;—for, seriously indisposed as lie was, and 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


234 


L1801. 


low-spirited from private considerations, lie did not 
know, if the Mediterranean were vacant, that he 
should be equal to undertake it. He was offended 
with the admiralty for refusing him leave to go to 
town when he had solicited; in reply to a friendly 
letter from Trowbridge he says, “ I am at this mo¬ 
ment as firmly of opinion as ever, that Lord St. 
Vincent and yourself should have allowed of my 
coming to town for. my own affairs, for every one 
knows I left it without a thought for myself/’ His 
letters at this time breathe an angry feeling toward 
Trowbridge, who was now become, he said, one of his 
lords and masters,—“ I have a letter from him,” he 
says, u recommending me to wear flannel shirts. 
Does he care for me ? no : but never mind. They 
shall work hard to get me again.—The cold has 
settled in my bowels. I wish the admiralty had my 
complaint: but they have no bowels, at least for 
me.—I dare say Master Trowbridge is grown fat; 
I know I am grown lean with my complaint, which, 
but for their indifference about my health, could 
never have happened; or, at least, I should have 
got well long ago in a warm room with a good fire 
and sincere friend.” In the same tone of bitter¬ 
ness, he complained that he was not able to pro¬ 
mote those whom he thought deserving : 44 Trow- 
bridge,” he says, 44 has so completely prevented my 
ever mentioning any body’s service, that I am be¬ 
come a cipher, and he has gained a victory over 
Nelson’s spirit. I am kept here, for what?—he 
may be able to tell, I cannot. But long it cannot, 
shall not be.” An end was put to this uncomfort¬ 
able state of mind when, fortunately (on that ac¬ 
count) for him, as well as happily for the nation, 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1 SOI.H| LIFE OF NELSON. 285 

the peace of Amiens was, just at this time, signed. 
Nelson rejoiced that the experiment was made, but 
was well aware that it was an experiment: he saw 
what he called the misery of peace, unless the ut¬ 
most vigilance and prudence were exerted : and he 
expressed, in bitter terms, his proper indignation at 
the manner in which the mob of London welcomed 
the French general, who brought the ratification : 
saying, “ that they made him ashamed of his 
country.” 

He had purchased a house and estate at Merton, 
in Surrey; meaning to pass his days there in the 
society of Sir William and Lady Hamilton. He had 
indulged in pleasant dreams when looking on to this 
as his place of residence and rest. “ To be sure,” 
lie says, “ we shall employ the tradespeople of our 
village in preference to any others, in what we want 
for common use, and give them every encourage¬ 
ment to be kind and attentive to us.”—“ Have we 
a nice church at Merton? We will set an example 
of goodness to the under-parishioners. I admire 
the pigs and poultry. Sheep are certainly most 
beneficial to eat off the grass. Do you get paid for 
them, and take care that they are kept on the pre¬ 
mises all night, for that is the time they do good 
to the land. They should be folded. Is your head 
man a good person, and true to our interest ? I 
intend to have a farming book. I expect that all 
animals will increase where you are, for I never 
expect that you will suffer any to be killed. No 
person can take amiss our not visiting. The answer 
from me will always be very civil thanks, but that 
I wish to live retired. We shall have our sea- 
friends ; and I know Sir William thinks they are 




LIFE OF NELSON. 


286 LIFE OF NELSON. QlSOl. 

the best.” This place he had never seen till he 
was now welcomed there by the friends to whom he 
had so passionately devoted himself, and who were 
not less sincerely attached to him. The place, and 
everything which Lady Hamilton had done to it, 
delighted him; and he declared that the longest 
liver should possess it all. Here he amused him¬ 
self with angling in the Wandle, having been a good 
fly-fisher in former days, and learning now to prac¬ 
tise with his left hand*, what he could no longer 
pursue as a solitary diversion. His pensions for 
his victories, and for the loss of his eye and arm, 
amounted with his half-pay to about ,£3,400 a year. 
From this he gave £1,800 to Lady Nelson, £200 to 
a brother’s widow, and £150 for the education of 
his children; and he paid £500 interest for bor¬ 
rowed money ; so that Nelson was comparatively a 
poor man ; and though much of the pecuniary 
embarrassment which he endured was occasioned 
by the separation from his wife—even if that cause 
had not existed, his income would not. have been 
sufficient for the rank which he held, and the claims 
which would necessarily be made upon his bounty. 
The depression of spirits under which he had long- 
laboured arose partly from this state of his circum¬ 
stances, and partly from the other disquietudes in 
which his connexion -with Lady Hamilton had in¬ 
volved him: a connexion which it was not possible 


* This is mentioned on the authority, and by the desire of 
Sir Humphrey Davyf, whose name I write with the respect to 
which it is so justly entitled; and calling to mind the time 
when we were in habits of daily and intimate intercourse with 
affectionate regret. 


•f* Salmonia, p. 6. 




1801.] LIFE OF NELSON. 287 

his father could behold without sorrow and dis¬ 
pleasure. Mr. Nelson, however, was soon persuaded 
that the attachment, which Lady Nelson regarded 
with natural jealousy and resentment, did not, in 
reality, pass the bounds of ardent and romantic 
admiration : a passion which the manners and ac¬ 
complishments of Lady Hamilton, fascinating as 
they w T ere, would not have been able to excite, if 
they had not been accompanied by more uncom¬ 
mon intellectual endowments, and by a character 
which, both in its strength and in its weakness, 
resembled his own. It did not, therefore, require 
much explanation to reconcile him to his son;—an 
event the more essential to Nelson’s happiness, be¬ 
cause, a few months afterwards, the good old man 
died at the age of seventy-nine. 

Soon after the conclusion of peace, tidings ar¬ 
rived of our final and decisive successes in Egypt: 
in consequence of which, the common council 
voted their thanks to the army and navy for bring¬ 
ing the campaign to so glorious a conclusion. 
When Nelson, after the action of Cape St. Vincent, 
had been entertained at a city feast, he had observed 
to the lord mayor, “ that, if the city continued its 
generosity, the navy would ruin them in gifts.” 
To which the lord mayor replied, putting his hand 
upon the admiral’s shoulder: “ Do you find vic¬ 
tories, and we will find rewards.” Nelson, as he 
said, had kept his word,—had doubly fulfilled his 
part of the contract,—but no thanks had been voted 
for the battle of Copenhagen ; and feeling that he and 
his companions in that day’s glory had a fair and 
honourable claim to this reward, he took the present 
opportunity of addressing a letter to the lord mayor. 



238 LIFE OF NELSON. [] 1 SOI. 

complaining of the omission and the injustice. 
“ The smallest services,” said he, “ rendered by the 
army or navy to the country, have always been no¬ 
ticed by the great city of London with one excep¬ 
tion :—the glorious 2nd of April:—a day, when the 
greatest dangers of navigation were overcome; and 
the Danish force, which they thought impregnable, 
totally taken or destroyed, by the consummate skill 
of our commanders, and by the undaunted bravery 
of as gallant a band as ever defended the rights of 
this country. For myself, if I were only personally 
concerned, I should bear the stigma, attempted to 
he now first placed upon my brow, with humility. 
But, my lord, I am the natural guardian of the fame 
of all the officers of the navy, army, and marines, 
who fought, and so profusely bled, under my com¬ 
mand on that day. Again, I disclaim for myself 
more merit than naturally falls to a successful com¬ 
mander ; but when I am called upon to speak of the 
merits of the captains of his majesty’s ships, and of 
the officers and men, whether seamen, marines, or 
soldiers, whom I that day had the happiness to com¬ 
mand, I then say, that never was the glory of this 
country upheld with more determined bravery than 
on that occasion :—and, if I may be allowed to give an 
opinion as a Briton, then I say, that more important 
service was never rendered to our king and country. 
It is my duty, my lord, to prove to the brave fellows, 
my companions in danger, that I have not failed, 
at every proper place, to represent, as well as I am 
able, their bravery and meritorious conduct.” 

Another honour, of greater impost, was withheld 
from the conquerors. The king had given medals 
to those captains who were engaged in the battles 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1803.] 


239 


of the 1st of June, of Cape St. Vincent, of Cam- 
perdown, and of the Nile. Then came the victory 
at Copenhagen: which Nelson truly called the 
most difficult achievement, the hardest fought bat¬ 
tle, the most glorious result that ever graced the 
annals of our country. He, of course, expected 
the medal: and, in writing to . Earl St. Vincent, 
said : “ He longed to have it, and would not give 
it up to be made an English duke.” The medal, 
however, was not. given :— u For what reason,” 
said Nelson, “ Lord St. Vincent best knows.”— 
Words plainly implying a suspicion, that it was 
withheld by some feeling of jealousy: and that 
suspicion estranged him, during the remaining part 
of his life, from one who had at one time been 
essentially, as well as sincerely, his friend; and of 
whose professional abilities he ever entertained the 
highest opinion. 

The happiness which Nelson enjoyed in the so¬ 
ciety of his chosen friends was of no long conti¬ 
nuance. Sir William Hamilton, who was far ad¬ 
vanced in years, died early in 1803; a mild, 
amiable, accomplished man, who has thus in a 
letter described his own philosophy:—“ My study 
of antiquities,” lie says, “ has kept me in constant 
thought of the perpetual fluctuation of everything. 
The whole art is really to live all the days of our 
life ; and not witli anxious care disturb the sweetest 
hour that life affords,—which is the present.— 
Admire the Creator, and all his works, to us incom¬ 
prehensible ; and do all the good you can upon 
earth : and take the chance of eternity without 
dismay.” He expired in his wife’s arms, holding 
Nelson by the hand; and almost in his last words 

u 




LIFE OF NELSON. 


2Q0 


[1803. 


left her to his protection ; requesting him that he 
would see justice done her by the government, as 
lie knew what she had done for her country. He 
left him her portrait in enamel, calling him his 
dearest friend; the most virtuous, loyal, and truly 
brave character he had ever known. The codicil, 
containing this bequest, concluded with these words : 
u God bless him, and shame fall on those who do 
not say amen.” Sir William’s pension, of £1200 
a year, ceased with his death. , Nelson applied to 
Mr. Addington in Lady Hamilton’s behalf, stating 
the important service which she had rendered to 
the fleet at Syracuse: and Mr. Addington, it is 
said, acknowledged that she had a just claim upon 
the gratitude of the country. This barren acknow¬ 
ledgment was all that was obtained: but a sum, 
equal to the pension which her husband had en¬ 
joyed, was settled on her by Nelson, and paid in 
monthly payments during his life. A few weeks 
after this event, the war was renewed ; and, the 
day after his majesty’s message to parliament, Nel¬ 
son departed to take the command of the Mediter¬ 
ranean fleet. The war, he thought, could not be 
long ; just enough to make him independent in 
pecuniary matters. 

He took his station immediately off Toulon; and 
there, with incessant vigilance, waited for the coming 
out of the enemy. The expectation of acquiring a 
competent fortune did not last long. “ Somehow,” 
he says, “ my mind is not sharp enough for prize- 
money. Lord Keith would have made £20,000, 
and I have not made £6000.” More than once he 
says that the prizes taken in the Mediterranean 
had not paid his expenses and once he expresses 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1803.] 


291 


himself as if it were a consolation to think that 
some ball might soon close all his accounts with 
this world of care and vexation. At this time the 
widow of his brother, being then blind and advanced 
in years, was distressed for money, and about to 
sell her plate ; he wrote to Lady Hamilton, request¬ 
ing of her to find out what her debts were, and 
saying, that if the amount was within his power, he 
would certainly pay it, and rather pinch himself 
than that she should want. Before he had finished 
the letter, an account arrived that a sum was pay¬ 
able to him for some neutral taken four years before, 
which enabled him to do this without being the 
poorer: and he seems to have felt at the moment 
that what was thus disposed of by a cheerful giver, 
shall be paid to him again.—One from whom he 
had looked for very different conduct, had com¬ 
pared his own wealth in no becoming manner with 
Nelson’s limited means. “ I know,” said he to 
Lady Hamilton, “ the full extent of the obligation 
I owe him, and he may be useful to me again; but 
I can never forget his unkindness to you. But, I 
guess many reasons influenced his conduct in brag¬ 
ging of his riches and my honourable poverty ; but, 
as I have often said, and with honest pride, what I 
have is my own : it never cost the widow a tear, or 
the nation a farthing. I got what I have with my 
pure blood, from the enemies of my country. Our 
house, my own Emma, is built upon a solid founda¬ 
tion ; and will last to us, when his house and lands 
may belong to others than his children.” 

His hope was that peace might soon be made, or 
that he should be relieved from his command, and 
retire to Merton, where at that distance he was 

u 2 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


292 


[1803. 


planning and directing improvements. On bis birth¬ 
day he writes, “ This day, my dearest Emma, I con¬ 
sider as more fortunate than common days, as by 
my coming into this world it has brought me so 
intimately acquainted with you. I well know that 
you will keep it, and have my dear Horatio to drink 
my health. Forty-six years of toil and trouble! 
How few more the common lot of mankind leads us 
to expect ! and therefore it is almost time to think 
of spending the few last years in peace and quiet¬ 
ness/’ It is painful to think that this language was 
not addressed to his wife, but to one with whom he 
promised himself “ many, many happy years, when 
that impediment,” as he calls her, u shall be removed, 
if God pleasedand they might be surrounded by 
their children’s children. 

When he had been fourteen months off Toulon, 
lie received a vote of thanks from the city of London, 
for his skill and perseverance in blockading that 
port, so as to prevent the French from putting 
to sea. Nelson had not forgotten the wrong which 
the city had done to the Baltic fleet by their omis¬ 
sion, and did not lose the opportunity which this 
vote afforded of recurring to that point. “ I do 
assure your lordship,” said he, in his answer to the 
lord mayor, u that there is not that man breathing 
who sets a higher value upon the thanks of his 
fellow-citizens of London than myself; but I should 
feel as much ashamed to receive them for a parti¬ 
cular service marked in the resolution, if I felt that 
I did not come within that line of service, as I 
should feel hurt at having a great victory passed 
over without notice. I beg to inform your lordship, 
that the port of Toulon has never been blockaded 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1803.] 


293 


by me : quite the reverse. Every opportunity lias 
been offered the enemy to put to sea : for it is there 
that we hope to realize the hopes and expectations 
of our country.” Nelson then remarked that the 
junior flag officers of his fleet had been omitted in 
this vote of thanks ; and his surprise at the omis¬ 
sion was expressed with more asperity, perhaps, 
than an offence, so entirely and manifestly unin¬ 
tentional, deserved: but it arose from that gene¬ 
rous regard for the feelings as well as interests of 
all who were under his command, which made him 
as much beloved in the fleets of Britain, as he was 
dreaded in those of the enemy. 

Never was any commander more beloved. He 
governed men by their reason and their affections; 
they knew that he was incapable of caprice or 
tyranny ; and they obeyed him with alacrity and 
joy, because he possessed their confidence as well 
as their love. “ Our Nel,” they used to say, “ is 
as brave as a lion, and as gentle as a lamb.” Se¬ 
vere discipline he detested, though he had been 
bred in a severe school: he never inflicted cor¬ 
poral punishment, if it were possible to avoid it, 
and when compelled to enforce it, he, who was 
familiar with wounds and death, suffered like a 
woman. In his whole life Nelson was never known 
to act unkindly towards an officer. If he was 
asked to prosecute one for ill behaviour, he used 
to answer: “That there was no occasion for him 
to ruin a poor devil, who was sufficiently his own 
enemy to ruin himself.” But in Nelson there was 
more than the easiness and humanity of a happy 
nature: he did not merely abstain from injury; 
his was an active and watchful benevolence, ever 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


294 LIFE OF NELSON. [1803 

desirous not only to render justice, but to do good. 
During the peace, he had spoken in parliament 
upon the abuses respecting prize-money ; and had 
submitted plans to government for more easily 
manning the navy, and preventing desertion from 
it, by bettering the condition of the seamen. He 
proposed that their certificates should be registered, 
and that every man who had served, with a good 
character, five years in war, should receive a bounty 
of two guineas annually after that time, and of 
four guineas after eight years. “ This,” he said, 
44 might, at first sight, appear an enormous sum 
for the state to pay; but the average life of seamen 
is, from hard service, finished at forty-five: he 
cannot, therefore, enjoy the annuity many years; 
and the interest of the money saved by their not 
deserting would go far to pay the whole expense.” 

To his midshipmen he ever showed the most 
winning kindness, encouraging the diffident, tem¬ 
pering the hasty, counselling and befriending both. 
“ Recollect,” he used to say, “ that you must be a 
seaman to be an officer; and also, that you cannot 
be a good officer without being a gentleman.”—A 
lieutenant wrote to him to say, that he was dissa¬ 
tisfied with his captain. Nelson’s answer was in 
that spirit of perfect wisdom and perfect goodness, 
which regulated his whole conduct toward those 
who were under his command. “ I have just re¬ 
ceived your letter; and I am truly sorry that any 
difference should arise between your captain, who 
has the reputation of being one of the bright 
officers of the service, and yourself, a very young 
man, and a very young officer, who must naturally 
have much to learn: therefore the chance is, that 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


Ifc03. J LIFE OF NELSON. 295 

you are perfectly wrong in the disagreement. How¬ 
ever, as your present situation must be very dis¬ 
agreeable, I will certainly take an early opportunity 
of removing you, provided your conduct to your 
present captain be such, that another may not refuse 
to receive you.” The gentleness and benignity 
of his disposition never made him forget what was 
due to discipline. Being on one occasion applied 
to, to save a young officer from a court-martial, 
which he had provoked by his misconduct, his re¬ 
ply was, “ That he would do everything in his 
power to oblige so gallant and good an officer as 
Sir John Warren,” in whose name the intercession 
had been made :—“ But what,” he added, “ would 
he do if he were here ?—Exactly what I have done, 
and am still willing to do. The young man must 
write such a letter of contrition as would be an ac¬ 
knowledgment of his great fault; and, with a sin¬ 
cere promise, if his captain will intercede to prevent 
the impending court-martial, never to so misbehave 
again. On his captain’s enclosing me such a letter, 
with a request to cancel the order for the trial, I 
miirht be induced to do it: but the letters and re- 
primand will be given in the public order-book of 
the fleet, and read to all the officers. The young 
man has pushed himself forward to notice, and he 
must take the consequence.—It was upon the 
quarter-deck, in the face of the ship’s company, 
that he treated his captain with contempt; and I 
am in duty bound to support the authority and 
consequence of every officer under my command. 
A poor ignorant seaman is for ever punished for 
contempt to his superiors.” 

A dispute occurred in the fleet, while it was off 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


296 


[1803. 


Toulon, which called forth Nelson’s zeal for the 
rights and interests of the navy. Some young artil¬ 
lery officers, serving on board the bomb vessels, re¬ 
fused to let their men perform any other duty but 
what related to the mortars. They wished to have 
it established, that their corps was not subject to 
the captain’s authority. The same pretensions were 
made in the Channel fleet about the same time, 
and the artillery rested their claims to separate and 
independent authority on board, upon a clause in 
the act, which they interpreted in their favour. 
Nelson took up the subject with all the earnestness 
which its importance deserved. — u There is no real 
happiness in this world,” said he, writing to Earl 
St. Vincent, as first lord. “ With all content, and 
smiles around me, up start these artillery boys (I 
understand they are not beyond that age), and set 
us at defiance : speaking in the most disrespectful 
manner of the navy, and its commanders. I know 
you, my dear lord, so well, that, with your quick¬ 
ness, the matter would have been settled, and per¬ 
haps some of them been broke. I am perhaps, 
more patient; but I do assure you, not less resolved, 
if my plan of conciliation is not attended to. You 
and I are on the eve of quitting the theatre of our 
exploits; but we hold it due to our successors, 
never, whilst we have a tongue to speak, or a hand 
to write, to allow the navy to be, in the smallest 
degree, injured in its discipline by our conduct.” 
To Trowbridge he wrote in the same spirit,—“ It 
is the old history, trying to do away the act of 
parliament: but I trust they will never succeed; 
for, when they do, farewell to our naval superiority. 
We should be prettily commanded! Let them once 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1803. U LIFE OF NELSON. 297 

gain the step of being independent of the navy on 
board a ship, and they will soon have .the other, 
and command us.—But, thank God! my dear 
Trowbridge, the king himself cannot do away the 
act of parliament. Although my career is nearly 
run, yet it would embitter my future days, and ex¬ 
piring moments, to hear of our navy being sacrificed 
to the army.” As the surest way of preventing such 
disputes, he suggested that the Tiavy should have 
its own corps of artillery; and a corps of marine 
artillery was accordingly established. 

Instead of lessening the power of the commander, 
Nelson would have wished to see it increased : it 
was absolutely necessary, he thought, that merit 
should be rewarded at the moment, and that the 
officers of the fleet should look up to the com- 
mandcr-in-chief for their reward. He himself was 
never more happy than when he could promote 
those who were deserving of promotion. Many 
were the services which he thus rendered unsoli¬ 
cited : and frequently the officer, in whose behalf 
he had interested himself with the admiralty, did 
not know to whose friendly interference he was in¬ 
debted for his good fortune.—He used to say, “ I 
wish it to appear as a God-send.” The love which 
he bore the navy made him promote the interests, 
and honour the memory, of all who had added to 
its glories. “ The near relations of brother offi¬ 
cers,” he said, “ he considered as legacies to the 
service.” Upon mention being made to him of 
a son of Rodney, by the Duke of Clarence, his 
reply was: “ I agree with your royal highness 
most entirely, that the son of a Rodney ought to 
be the 'protege of every person in the kingdom, and 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


298 


[1803. 


particularly of the sea officers. Had I known that 
there had been this claimant, some of my own 
lieutenants must have given way to such a name, 
and he should have been placed in the Victory: she 
is full, and I have twenty on my list; but, what¬ 
ever numbers I have, the name of Rodney must 
cut many of them out.” Such was the proper 
sense which Nelson felt of what was due to splen¬ 
did services and illustrious names. His feelings 
toward the brave men who had served with him are 
shown by a note in his diary, which w r as probably 
not intended for any other eye than his own.— 
“ Nov. 7. I had the comfort of making an old 
Agamemnon, George Jones, a gunner into the 
Chameleon brig.” 

When Nelson took the command, it was ex¬ 
pected that the Mediterranean would be an active 
scene. Nelson well understood the character of 
the perfidious Corsican, wdio was now sole tyrant 
of France ; and knowing that he was as ready to 
attack his friends as his enemies, knew, therefore, 
that nothing could be more uncertain than the di- 
rection of the fleet from Toulon, whenever it should 
put to sea:—“ It had as many destinations,” he 
said, “ as there were countries.” The momentous 
revolutions of the last ten years had given him 
ample matter for reflection, as w r ell as opportunities 
for observation : the film was cleared from his eyes; 
and now, when the French no longer went abroad 
with the cry of liberty and equality, he saw that 
the oppression and misrule of the powers which had 
been opposed to them had been the main causes of 
their success, and that those causes would still pre¬ 
pare the way before them. Even in Sicily, where, 


1803.] LIFE OF KELSON. 2f 

if it had been possible longer to blind himself, 
Nelson would willingly have seen no evil; lie per¬ 
ceived that the people wished for a change, and 
acknowledged that they had reason to wish for it. 
In Sardinia the same burden of misgovernment was 
felt; and the people, like the Sicilians, were im¬ 
poverished by a government so utterly incompetent 
to perform its first and most essential duties, that 
it did not protect its own coasts from the Barbary 
pirates. He would fain have had us purchase this 
island (the finest in the Mediterranean) from its 
sovereign, who did not receive £5000 a year from 
it, after its wretched establishment was paid. There 
was reason to think that France was preparing to 
possess herself of this important point, which af¬ 
forded our fleet facilities for watching Toulon, not 
to be obtained elsewhere. An expedition was pre¬ 
paring at Corsica for the purpose; and all the 
Sardes, who had taken part with revolutionary 
France, were ordered to assemble there. It was 
certain that, if the attack were made, it would suc¬ 
ceed. Nelson thought that the only means to pre¬ 
vent Sardinia from becoming French, was to make 
it English, and that half a million would give the 
king a rich price, and England a cheap purchase. 
A better, and therefore a wiser policy, would have 
been to exert our influence in removing the abuses 
of the government: for foreign dominion is always, 
in some degree, an evil: and allegiance neither can 
nor ought to be made a thing of bargain and sale. 
Sardinia, like Sicily and Corsica, is large enough 
to form a separate state. Let us hope that these 
islands may one day be made free and independent. 
Freedom and independence will bring with them 


300 LIFE OF NELSON. £l803. 

industry and prosperity; and wherever these are 
found, arts and letters will flourish, and the im¬ 
provement of the human race proceed. 

The proposed attack was postponed. Views of 
wider ambition were opening upon Buonaparte, 
who now almost undisguisedly aspired to make 
himself master of the continent of Europe; and 
Austria was preparing for another struggle, to be 
conducted as weakly and terminated as miserably 
as the former. Spain, too, was once more to be 
involved in war, by the policy of France: that 
perfidious government having in view the double 
object of employing the Spanish resources against 
England, and exhausting them, in order to render 
Spain herself finally its prey. Nelson, who knew 
that England and the Peninsula ought to be in 
alliance, for the common interest of both, fre¬ 
quently expressed his hopes that Spain might re¬ 
sume her natural rank among the nations. “ We 
ought,” he said, u by mutual consent, to be the 
very best friends, and both to be ever hostile to 
France.” But he saw that Buonaparte w T as medi¬ 
tating the destruction of Spain ; and' that, while 
the wretched court of Madrid professed to remain 
neutral, the appearances of neutrality were scarcely 
preserved. An order of the year 1771, excluding 
British ships of war from the Spanish ports, was 
revived, and put in force; while French privateers, 
from these very ports, annoyed the British trade, 
carried their prizes in, and sold them even at Bar¬ 
celona. Nelson complained of this to the captain- 
general of Catalonia, informing him, that he claimed, 
for every British ship or squadron, the right of 
lying, as long as it pleased, in the ports of Spain, 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1803.] 


301 


while that right was allowed to other powers. To 
the British ambassador he said: “ I am ready to 
make large allowances for the miserable situation 
Spain has placed herself in ; but there is a certain 
line, beyond which I cannot submit to be treated 
with disrespect. We have given up French vessels 
taken within gun-shot of the Spanish shore, and 
yet French vessels are permitted to attack our ships 
from the Spanish shore. Your excellency may 
assure the Spanish government, that in whatever 
place the Spaniards allow the French to attack us, 
in that place I shall order the French to be at¬ 
tacked/’ 

During this state of things, to which the weak¬ 
ness of Spain, and not her will, consented, the 
enemy’s fleet did not venture to put to sea. Nel¬ 
son watched it with unremitting and almost unex¬ 
ampled perseverance. The station off Toulon he 
called his home. “ We are in the right fighting 
trim,” said he: “ let’ them come as soon as they 
please. I never saw a fleet, altogether so well 
officered and manned: would to God the ships 
were half as good !—The finest ones in the service 
would soon be destroyed by such terrible weather. 
I know well enough, that if I were to go into 
Malta, I should save the ships during this bad sea¬ 
son : but if I am to watch the French, I must be 
at sea; and, if at sea, must have bad weather: 
and if the ships are not fit to stand bad weather, 
they are useless.” Then only he was satisfied, and 
at ease, when he had the enemy in view. Mr. Elliot, 
our minister at Naples, seems, at this time, to 
have proposed to send a confidential Frenchman to 
him with information. “ I should be very happy,” 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


302 


|_1S03. 


lie replied, 44 to receive authentic intelligence of 
the destination of the French squadron, their 
route, and time of sailing. — Anything short of 
this is useless ; and I assure your excellency, that 
I would not, upon any consideration, have a French¬ 
man in the fleet, except as a prisoner. I put no 
confidence in them. You think yours good ; the 
queen thinks the same: I believe they are all 
alike. Whatever information you can get me I 
shall be very thankful for; but not a Frenchman 
comes here. Forgive me, but my mother hated the 
French.” 

M. Latouche Treville, who had commanded at 
Boulogne, commanded now at Toulon. 44 He was 
sent for on purpose,” said Nelson, “ as he beat me 
at Boulogne, to beat me again : but he seems very 
loath to try.” One day, while the main body of 
our fleet was out of sight of land, Rear-Admiral 
Campbell, reconnoitring with the Canopus, Done¬ 
gal, and Amazon, stood in close to the port; and 
M. Latouche, taking advantage of a breeze which 
sprung up, pushed out, with four ships of the line 
and three heavy frigates, and chased him about 
four leagues. The Frenchman, delighted at having 
found himself in so novel a situation, published a 
boastful account; affirming, that he had given 
chase to the whole British fleet, and that Nelson 
had fled before him ! Nelson thought it due to the 
admiralty to send home a copy of the Victory’s log 
upon this occasion. 44 As for himself,” he said, 
44 if his character was not established by that time 
for not being apt to run away, it was not worth his 
while to put the world right.”— 44 If this fleet gets 
fairly up with M. Latouche,” said he to one of his 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1803.] 


303 


correspondents, “ his letter, with all his ingenuity, 
must be different from his last. We had fancied 
that we chased him into Toulon; for, blind as I 
am, I could see his water line, when he clued his 
topsails up, shutting in Sepet. But from the time 
of his meeting Capt. Hawker, in the Isis, I never 
heard of his acting otherwise than as a poltroon and 
a liar. Contempt is the best mode of treating such 
a miscreant.” In spite, however, of contempt, the 
impudence of this Frenchman half angered him. 
He said to his brother : “You will have seen La- 
touche’s letter ; how he chased me, and how I ran. 
I keep it: and if I take him, by God he shall eat it.” 

Nelson, who used to say, that in sea affairs no¬ 
thing is impossible, and nothing improbable, feared 
the more that this Frenchman might get out and 
elude his vigilance ; because he was so especially 
desirous of catching him, and administering to him 
his own lying letter in a sandwich. M. Latouche, 
however, escaped him in another way. He died, 
according to the French papers, in consequence of 
walking so often up to the signal-post upon Sepet, 
to watch the British fleet. “ I always pronounced 
that would be his death,” said Nelson. “ If he had 
come out and fought me, it would, at least, have 
added ten years to my life.” The patience with 
which he had watched Toulon, he spoke of, truly, 
as a perseverance at sea which had never been 
surpassed. From May, 1803, to August, 1805, lie 
himself went out of his ship but three times; each 
of those times was upon the king’s service, and 
neither time of absence exceeded an hour. In 
1804 the Swift cutter going out with despatches 
was taken, and all the despatches and letters fell 


304 LIFE OF NELSON. [1804. 

into the hands of the enemy. u A very pretty 
piece of work!” says Nelson, “ I am not sur¬ 
prised at the capture, but am very much so that 
any despatches should be sent in a vessel with 
twenty-three men, not equal to cope with any row¬ 
boat privateer. The loss of the Hindostan was 
great enough; but for importance it is lost, in 
comparison to the probable knowledge the enemy 
will obtain of our connexions with foreign coun¬ 
tries. Foreigners for ever say, and it is true, we 
dare not trust England: one way or other we are 
sure to be committed. 5 ’ In a subsequent letter, he 
says, speaking of the same capture: “ I find, my 
dearest Emma, that your picture is very much ad¬ 
mired by the French Consul at Barcelona; and 
that he has not sent it to be admired, which I am 
sure it would be, by Buonaparte. They pretend 
that there were three pictures taken. I wish I had 
them : but they are all gone as irretrievably as the 
despatches ; unless we may read them in a book, 
as we printed their correspondence from Egypt. 
But from us what can they find out ? That I 
love you most dearly, and hate the French most 
damnably. Dr. Scott went to Barcelona to try to 
get the private letters; but I fancy they are all 
gone to Paris. The Swedish and American Con¬ 
suls told him, that the French Consul had your 
picture and read your letters : and the Doctor thinks 
one of them, probably, read the letters. By the 
master’s account of the cutter, I would not have 
trusted an old pair of shoes in her. He tells me 
she did not sail, but was a good sea-boat. I hope 
Mr. Marsden will not trust any more of my private 
letters in such a conveyance: if they choose to 


1803. J LIFE OF NELSON. 305 

trust the affairs of the public in such a thing, I 
cannot help it.” 

While he was on this station, the weather had 
been so unusually severe, that he said the Medi¬ 
terranean seemed altered. It was his rule never to 
contend with the gales; but either run to the 
southward to escape their violence, or furl all the 
sails, and make the ships as easy as possible. The 
men, though he said flesh and blood could hardly 
stand it, continued in excellent health, which he 
ascribed, in great measure, to a plentiful supply of 
lemons and onions. For himself, he thought he 
could only last till the battle was over. One battle 
more it was his hope that he might fight.— u How¬ 
ever,” said he, “ whatever happens, I have run a 
glorious race.”—“ A few months' rest,” he says, 
“ I must have very soon. If I am in my grave, 
what are the mines of Peru to me ? But to say the 
truth, I have no idea of killing myself. I may, 
with care, live yet to do good service to the state. 
My cough is very bad, and my side, where I was 
struck on the J4th of February, is very much 
swelled; at times a lump as large as my fist, 
brought on occasionally by violent coughing. But 
I hope and believe my lungs are yet safe.” He 
was afraid of blindness; and this was the only evil 
which he could not contemplate without unhappi¬ 
ness. More alarming symptoms he regarded with 
less apprehension ; describing his own “ shattered 
carcass,” as in the worst plight of any in the fleet: 
and he says, “ I have felt the blood gushing up 
the left side of my head: and, the moment it 
covers the brain, I am fast asleep.” The fleet was 
in worse trim than the men: but when he eom- 

x 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


306 


[1803. 


pared it with the enemy’s, it was with a right 
English feeling. 44 The French fleet yesterday,” 
said lie, in one of his letters, 44 was to appearance 
in high feather, and as fine as paint could make 
them:—but when they may sail, or where they 
may go, I am very sorry to say is a secret I am not 
acquainted with. Our weather-beaten ships, I have 
no fear, will make their sides like a plumpud¬ 
ding.” 44 Yesterday,” he says, on another occasion, 
44 a rear-admiral and seven sail of ships put their 
nose outside the harbour. If they go on playing 
this game, some day we shall lay salt upon their 
tails.” 

Hostilities at length commenced between Great 
Britain and Spain. That country, whose miserable 
government made her subservient to France, was 
once more destined to lavish her resources and her 
blood in furtherance of the designs of a perfidious 
ally. The immediate occasion of the war was the 
seizure of four treasure-ships by the English.—The 
act was perfectly justifiable; for those treasures 
were intended to furnish means for France ; but the 
circumstances which attended it were as unhappy 
as they were unforeseen. Four frigates had been 
despatched to intercept them. They met with an 
equal force. Resistance, therefore, became a point 
of honour on the part of the Spaniards, and one of 
their ships soon blew up, with all on board. Had 
a stronger squadron been sent, this deplorable ca¬ 
tastrophe might have been spared : a catastrophe 
which excited not more indignation in Spain, than 
it did grief in those who were its unwilling instru¬ 
ments, in the English government, and in the En¬ 
glish people. On the fifth of October this unhappy 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1804.] 


307 


affair occurred, and Nelson was not apprised of it 
till the twelfth of the ensuing month. He had, in¬ 
deed, sufficient mortification at the breaking out of 
this Spanish war; an event which, it might reason¬ 
ably have been supposed, would amply enrich the 
officers of the Mediterranean fleet, and repay them 
for the severe and unremitting duty.on which they 
had been so long employed. But of this harvest 
they were deprived; for Sir John Orde was sent 
with a small squadron, and a separate command, 
to Cadiz. Nelsons feelings were never wounded 
so deeply as now. “ I had thought,” said he, writ- 
ins: in the first flow and freshness of indignation : 
“ I fancied,—but nay; it must have been a dream, 
an idle dream;—yet, I confess it, I did fancy that I 
had done my country service ; and thus they use me! 
—And under what circumstances, and with what 
pointed aggravation!—Yet, if I know my own 
thoughts, it is not for myself, or on my own account 
chiefly, that I feel the sting and the disappointment. 
No ! it is for my brave officers : for my noble-minded 
friends and comrades. Such a gallant set of fellows ! 
Such a band of brothers ! My heart swells at the 
thought of them.” 

War between Spain and England was now de¬ 
clared ; and on the eighteenth of January, the 
Toulon fleet, having the Spaniards to co-operate 
with them, put to sea. Nelson was at anchor off 
the coast of Sardinia, where the Madelena islands 
form one of the finest harbours in the world, when, 
at three in the afternoon of the nineteenth, the Active 
and Seahorse frigates brought this long hoped for 
intelligence. They had been close to the enemy at 
ten on the preceding night, but lost sight of them in 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


303 LIFE OF NELSON. £1804. 

about four hours. The fleet immediately unmoored 
and weighed, and at six in the evening ran through 
the strait between Biche and Sardinia: a passage 
so narrow that the ships could only pass one at a 
time, each following the stern lights of its leader. 
From the position of the enemy, when they were 
last seen, it was inferred, that they must be bound 
round the southern end of Sardinia. Signal was 
made the next morning to prepare for battle. Bad 
weather came on, baffling the one fleet in its object, 
and the other in its pursuit. Nelson beat about 
the Sicilian seas for ten days, without obtaining 
any other information of the enemy, than that one 
of their ships had put into Ajaccio, dismasted ; and 
having seen that Sardinia, Naples, and Sicily were 
safe, believing Egypt to be their destination, for 
Egypt he ran. The disappointment and distress 
which he had experienced in his former pursuits 
of the French through the same seas were now re- 

o 


newed: but Nelson, while he endured these anxious 
and unhappy feelings, was still consoled by the 
same confidence as on the former occasion—that, 
though his judgment might be erroneous, under all 
circumstances he was right in having formed it. 
“ I have consulted no man,” said he, to the admi¬ 
ralty ; “ therefore the whole blame of ignorance in 
forming my judgment must rest with me. I would 
allow no man to take from me an atom of my glory 
had I fallen in with the French fleet; nor do I de¬ 
sire any man to partake any of the responsibility. 
All is mine, right or wrong.” Then stating the 
grounds upon which he had proceeded, he added : 
“ At this moment of sorrow, I still feel that I have 
acted right.” In the same spirit he said to Sir 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1805.] 


309 


Alexander Ball: “ When I call to remembrance 
all the circumstances, I approve, if nobody else 
does, of my own conduct.” 

Baffled thus, he bore up for Malta, and met in¬ 
telligence from Naples that the French, having been 
dispersed in a gale, had put back to Toulon. From 
the same quarter he learned, that a great number of 
saddles and muskets had been embarked; and this 
confirmed him in his opinion that Egypt was their 
destination. That they should have put back in 
consequence of storms, which he had weathered, 
gave him a consoling sense of British superiority.— 
“ These gentlemen,” said he, “ are not accustomed 
to a gulf of Lyons’ gale: w T e have buffeted them 
for one-and-twenty months, and not carried away 
a spar.” He, however, who had so often braved 
these gales, was now, though not mastered by them, 
vexatiously thwarted and impeded: and on Feb¬ 
ruary 27, he was compelled to anchor in Pula 
Bay, in the Gulf of Cagliari. From the 21st of 
January the fleet had remained ready for battle, 
without a bulk-head up, night or day. He anchored 
here that he might not’be driven to leeward. As 
soon as the weather moderated he put to sea again; 
and, after again beating about against contrary 
winds, another gale drove him to anchor in the 
Gulf of Palma, on the 8th of March. This he 
made his rendezvous; he knew that the French 
troops still remained embarked, and, wishing to 
lead them into a belief that he was stationed upon 
the Spanish coast, he made his appearance off Bar¬ 
celona with that intent. About the end of the 
month, lie began to fear that the plan of the expe¬ 
dition was abandoned; and, sailing once more to 


3 10 LIFE OF NELSON. £1805. 

wards his old station off Toulon, on the 4 th of 
April, he met the Phoebe, with news that Ville- 
neuve had put to sea on the last of March with 
eleven ships of the line, seven frigates, and two 
brigs. When last seen, they were steering toward 
the coast of Africa. Nelson first covered the chan¬ 
nel between Sardinia and Barbary, so as to satisfy 
himself that Yilleneuve was not taking the same 
route for Egypt which Gantheaume had taken 
before him, when he attempted to carry reinforce¬ 
ments thither. Certain of this, he bore up on the 
7th for Palermo, lest the French should pass to the 
north of Corsica, and lie despatched cruisers in all 
directions. On the lltli, he felt assured that they 
were not gone down the Mediterranean ; and send¬ 
ing off frigates to Gibraltar, to Lisbon, and to Ad¬ 
miral Cornwallis, who commanded the squadron 
off Brest, he endeavoured to get to the westward, 
beating against westerly winds. After five days, a 
neutral gave intelligence that the French had been 
seen off Cape de Gatte on the 7th. It was soon 
after ascertained, that they had passed the Straits 
of Gibraltar on the day following ;—and Nelson, 
knowing that they might already be half way to 
Ireland, or to Jamaica, exclaimed, that he was mi¬ 
serable. One gleam of comfort only came across 
him in the reflection, that his vigilance had rendered 
it impossible for them to undertake any expedition 
in the Mediterranean. 

Eight days after this certain intelligence had 
been obtained, he described his state of mind thus 
forcibly, in writing to the governor of Malta : “ My 
good fortune, my dear Ball, seems flown away. I 
cannot get a fair wind, or even a side wind. Dead 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1SQ5.] 


311 


foul!—Dead foul!—But my mind is fully made up 
wliat to do when I leave the Straits, supposing 
there is no certain account of the enemy's destina¬ 
tion.—I believe this ill-luck will go near to kill 
me; but as these are times for exertion, I must 
not be cast down, whatever I may feel.” In spite 
of every exertion which could be made by all the 
zeal and all the skill of British seamen, he did not 
get in sight of Gibraltar till the 30th of April; 
and the wind was then so adverse, that it was im¬ 
possible to pass the Gut. He anchored in Mazari 
Bay, on the Barbary shore ; obtained supplies from 
Tetuan; and when, on the 5th, a breeze from the 
eastward sprang up at last, sailed once more, hoping 
to hear of the enemy from Sir John Orde, who 
commanded off Cadiz, or from Lisbon. “ If no¬ 
thing is heard of them,” said he to the admiralty, 
u I shall probably think the rumours which have 
been spread are true, that their object is the West 
Indies: and, in that case. I think it my duty to 
follow them,—or to the Antipodes, should I believe 
that to be their destination.” At the time when 
this resolution was taken, the physician of the fleet 
had ordered him to return to England before the hot 
months. 

Nelson had formed his judgment of their desti¬ 
nation, and made up his mind accordingly, when 
Donald Campbell, at that time an admiral in the 
Portuguese service, the same person who had given 
important tidings to Earl St. Vincent of the move¬ 
ments of that fleet from which he won his title, a 
second time gave timely and momentous intelli¬ 
gence to the flag of his country. He went on 
board the Victory, and communicated to Nelson 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


312 


[1305. 


his certain knowledge that the combined Spanish 
and French fleets were bound for the West Indies. 
—Hitherto all things had favoured the enemy. 
While the British commander was beating up 
against strong southerly and westerly gales, they 
had wind to their wish from the N. E.; and had 
done in nine days what he was a whole month in 
accomplishing. Villeneuve, finding the Spaniards 
at Carthagena were not in a state of equipment to 
join him, dared not wait, but hastened on to Cadiz. 
Sir John Orde necessarily retired at his approach. 
Admiral Gravina, with six Spanish ships of the 
line and two French, came out to him, and they 
sailed without a moment’s loss of time. They had 
about three thousand French troops on board, and 
fifteen hundred Spanish :—six hundred were under 
orders, expecting them at Martinique, and one 
thousand at Guadaloupe. General Lauriston com¬ 
manded the troops. The combined fleet now con¬ 
sisted of eighteen sail of the line, six forty-four 
gun frigates, one of twenty-six guns, three corvettes, 
and a brig. They were joined afterwards by two 
new French line-of-battle ships, and one forty-four. 
Nelson pursued them with ten sail of the line and 
three frigates. 44 Take you a Frenchman apiece,” 
said he to his captains, 44 and leave me the Spa¬ 
niards :—when 1 haul down my colours, I expect 
you to do the same,—and not till then.” 

The enemy had five and thirty days’ start; 
but he calculated that he should gain eight or ten 
days upon them by his exertions. May 15th he 
made Madeira, and on June 4th reached Barbadoes, 
whither he had sent despatches before him : and 
where he found Admiral Cochrane, with two ships, 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1805.J LIFE OF NELSON. 313 

part of our squadron in those seas being at Jamaica. 
He found here also accounts that the combined 
fleets had been seen from St. Lucia on the 28th, 
standing to the southward, and that Tobago and 
Trinidad were their objects. This Nelson doubted ; 
but he was alone in his opinion, and yielded it 
with these foreboding words—“ If your intelligence 
proves false, you- lose me the French fleet.” Sir 
William Myers offered to embark here with two 
thousand troops:—they were taken on board, and 
the next morning he sailed for Tobago. Here ac¬ 
cident confirmed the false intelligence which had, 
whether from intention or error, misled him. A 
merchant at Tobago, in the general alarm, not 
knowing whether this fleet was friend or foe, sent 
out a schooner to reconnoitre, and acquaint him 
by signal. The signal which he had chosen hap¬ 
pened to be the very one which had been appointed 
by Colonel Shipley of the engineers, to signify 
that the enemy were at Trinidad ; and as this was 
at the close of day, there was no opportunity of 
discovering the mistake. An American brig was 
met with about the same time; the master of which, 
with that propensity to deceive the English and 
assist the French in any manner, which has been 
but too common among his countrymen, affirmed, 
that he had been boarded off Granada a few days 
before by the French, who were standing towards 
the Bocas of Trinidad. This fresh intelligence re¬ 
moved all doubts. The ships were cleared for 
action before daylight, and Nelson entered the 
Bay of Paria on the 7th, hoping and expecting to 
make the mouths of the Orinoco as famous in the 
annals of the British navy as those of the Nile. 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


314 LIFE OF NELSON. [l8Q5. 

Not an enemy was there; and it was discovered 
that accident and artifice had combined to lead 
him so far to leeward, that there could have been 
little hope of fetching to windward of Granada for 
any other fleet. Nelson, however, with skill and 
exertions never exceeded, and almost unexampled, 
bore for that island. 

Advices met him on the way, that the combined 
fleets, having captured the Diamond Rock, were 
then at Martinique, on the fourth, and were ex¬ 
pected to sail that night for the attack of Granada. 
On the 9th Nelson arrived oft' that island ; and 
there learned that they had passed to leeward of An¬ 
tigua the preceding day, and taken a homeward- 
bound convoy. Had it not been for false informa¬ 
tion, upon which Nelson had acted reluctantly, 
and in opposition to his own judgment, he would 
have been off Port Royal just as they were leaving 
it, and the battle would have been fought on the 
spot where Rodney defeated De Grasse. This he 
remembered in his vexation : but he had saved the 
colonies, and above two hundred ships laden for 
Europe, which would else have fallen into the 
enemy’s hands; and he had the satisfaction of 
knowing that the mere terror of his name had 
effected this, and had put to flight the allied 
enemies, whose force nearly doubled that before 
which they fled. That they were flying back to 
Europe he believed, and for Europe he steered in 
pursuit on the 13th, having disembarked the troops 
at Antigua, and taking with him the Spartiate, 
seventy-four; the only addition to the squadron 
with which he was pursuing so superior a force. 
Five days afterwards the Amazon brought intelli* 


1S05.] LIFE OF NELSON. 315 

gence, that she had spoke a schooner who had 
seen them, on the evening of the 35th, steering to 
the N.; and, by computation, eighty-seven leagues 
off. Nelson’s diary at this time denotes his great 
anxiety, and his perpetual and all-observing vigi¬ 
lance.—“June 21. Midnight, nearly calm, saw 
three planks, which I think came from the French 
fleet. Very miserable, which is very foolish.” On 
the 17tli of July he came in sight of Cape St. Vin¬ 
cent, and steered for Gibraltar.—“ June 18th,” his 
diary says, “ Cape Spartel in sight, but no French 
fleet, nor any information about them. Flow sor¬ 
rowful this makes me ! but I cannot help myself.” 
The next day he anchored at Gibraltar; and on 
the 20th, says he, “ I went on shore for the first 
time since June 16, 1803; and from having my 
foot out of the Victory, two years, wanting ten 
days.” 

Here he communicated with his old friend Col- 
lingwood ; who, having been detached with a squa¬ 
dron, when the disappearance of the combined fleets, 
and of Nelson in their pursuit, was known in Eng¬ 
land, had taken his station off Cadiz. He thought 
that Ireland was the enemy’s ultimate object,— 
that they would now liberate the Ferrol squadron, 
which was blocked up by Sir Robert Calder,—call 
for the Rochefort ships, and then appear off Ushant 
witli three or four-and-thirty sail; there to be joined 
by the Brest fleet. With this great force he sup¬ 
posed they would make for Ireland,—the real mark 
and bent of all their operations: and their flight to 
the West Indies, he thought, had been merely un¬ 
dertaken to take off Nelson’s force, which was the 
great impediment to their undertaking. 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


316 


[1805. 


Collingwood was gifted with great political pe¬ 
netration. As yet, however, all was conjecture 
concerning the enemy; and Nelson, having victu¬ 
alled and watered at Tetuan, stood for Ceuta on 
the 24th, still without information of their course. 
Next day intelligence arrived that the Curieux brig 
had seen them on the 19th, standing to the north¬ 
ward. He proceeded off Cape St. Vincent, rather 
cruising for intelligence than knowing whither to 

betake himself: and here a case occurred, that 

/ 

more than any other event in real history resembles 
those whimsical proofs of sagacity which Voltaire, 
in his Zadig, has borrowed from the Orientals. 
One of our frigates spoke an American, who, a little 
to the westward of the Azores, had fallen in with 
an armed vessel, appearing to be a dismasted pri¬ 
vateer, deserted by her crew, which had been run 
on board by another ship, and had been set fire 
to; but the fire had gone out. A log-book, and 
a few seamen’s jackets were found in the cabin ; 
and these were brought to Nelson. The log-book 
closed with these words; 44 Two large vessels in 
the W.N.W.and this led him to conclude that 
the vessel had been an English privateer, cruising 
off the Western Islands. But there was in this 
book a scrap of dirty paper, filled with figures. 
Nelson immediately, upon seeing it, observed, that 
the figures were written by a Frenchman; and, 
after studying this for a while, said 44 I can ex¬ 
plain the whole. The jackets are of French ma¬ 
nufacture, and prove that the privateer was in pos¬ 
session of the enemy. She had been chased and 
taken by the two ships that were seen in the W. 
N.W. The prize-master, going on board iu a 


1805.] LIFE OF NELSON. 317 

hurry, forgot to take with him his reckoning : there 
is none in the log-book ; and the dirty paper con¬ 
tains her work for the number of days since the 
privateer last left Cotvo; with an unaccounted-for 
run, which I take to have been the chase, in his 
endeavour to find out her situation by back reckon¬ 
ings. By some mismanagement, I conclude, she 
was run on board of by one of the enemy’s ships, 
and dismasted. Not liking delay (for I am satisfied 
that those two ships were the advanced ones of the 
French squadron), and fancying we were close at 
their heels, they set fire to the vessel, and abandoned 
her in a hurry. If this explanation be corre^j;, I 
infer from it, that they are gone more to the north¬ 
ward ; and more to the northward I will look for 
them.” Tliis course accordingly he held, but still 
without success. Still persevering, and still disap¬ 
pointed, he returned near enough to Cadiz to ascer¬ 
tain that they were not there ; traversed the Bay of 
Biscay ; and then, as a last hope, stood over for the 
north-west coast of Ireland, against adverse winds, 
till, on the evening of the 12th of August, he learned 
that they had not been heard of there. Frustrated 
thus in all his hopes, after a pursuit, to which, for 
its extent, rapidity, and perseverance, no parallel 
can be produced, he judged it best to reinforce the 
channel fleet with his squadron, lest the enemy, as 
Collingwood apprehended, should bear down upon 
Brest with their whole collected force. On the 15th 
lie joined Admiral Cornwallis off Ushant. No news 
had yet been obtained of the enemy ; and on the 
same evening he received orders to proceed, with the 
Victory and Superb, to Portsmouth. 


313 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


[ 1805 . 


CHAPTER IX. 

Sir Robert Calder falls in with the combined Fleets—They form a 
Junction with the Ferrol Squadron, and get into Cadiz—Nelson 
is reappointed to the Command—Battle of Trafalgar—Victory, 
and Death of Nelson. 

At Portsmouth Nelson, at length, found news of the 
combined fleet. Sir Robert Calder, who had been 
sent out to intercept their return, had fallen in with 
them on the 22d of July, sixty leagues west of 
Cape Finisterre. Their force consisted of twenty 
sail of the line, three fifty-gun ships, five frigates, 
and two brigs : his, of fifteen line- of-battle ships, 
two frigates, a cutter, and a lugger. After an action 
of four hours, he had captured an eighty-four and a 
seventy four, and then thought it necessary to 
bring-to the squadron, for the purpose of securing 
their prizes. The hostile fleets remained in sight of 
each other till the 26th, when the enemy bore away. 
The capture of two ships from so superior a force 
would have been considered as no inconsiderable vic¬ 
tory a few years earlier; but Nelson had introduced 
a new era in our naval history; and the nation felt, 
respecting this action, as he had felt on a somewhat 
similar occasion. They regretted that Nelson, with 
his eleven ships, had not been in Sir Robert Calder’s 
place ; and their disappointment was generally and 
loudly expressed. 

Frustrated as his own hopes had been, Nelson 
had yet the high satisfaction of knowing that his 
judgment had never been more conspicuously ap¬ 
proved, and that he had rendered essential service 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1803.J LIFE OF NELSON. 319 

to his country, by driving the enemy from those 
islands, where they expected there could be no 
force capable of opposing them. The West India 
merchants in London, as men whose interests were 
more immediately benefited, appointed a deputa¬ 
tion to express their thanks for his great and judi¬ 
cious exertions. It was now his intention to rest 
awhile from his labours, and recruit himself, after 
all his fatigues and cares, in the society of those 
whom he loved. All his stores were brought up 
from the Victory; and he found in his house at 
Merton the enjoyment which he had anticipated. 
Many days had not elapsed before Captain Black¬ 
wood, on his way to London with despatches, called 
on him at five in the morning. Nelson, who was 
already dressed, exclaimed, the moment he saw 
him : “ I am sure you bring me news of the French 
and Spanish fleets! I think I shall yet have to 
beat them!” They had refitted at Vigo, after the 
indecisive action with Sir Robert Calder ; then 
proceeded to Ferrol, brought out the squadron from 
thence, and with it entered Cadiz in safety. “ De¬ 
pend on it, Blackwood,” he repeatedly said, “ I shall 
yet give M. Villeneuve a drubbing.” But, when 
Blackwood had left him, he wanted resolution to 
declare his wishes to Lady Hamilton and his sisters, 
and endeavoured to drive away the thought.—He 
had done enough, he said,—“Let the man trudge 
it who has lost his budget ! ” His countenance be¬ 
lied his lips; and as he was pacing one of the walks 
in the garden, which he used to call the quarter¬ 
deck, Lady Hamilton came up to him, and told him 
she saw he was uneasy. He smiled, and said: 
“ No, he was as happy as possible; he was sur- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


320 


[ 1805 . 


rounded by his family, his health was better since 
he had been on shore, and he would not give six¬ 
pence to call the king his uncle.” She replied, that 
she did not believe him,—that she knew he was 
longing to get at the combined fleets,—that he con¬ 
sidered them as his own property,—that he would be 
miserable if any man but himself did the business ; 
and that he ought to have them, as the price and 
reward of his two years’ long watching, and his hard 
chase. “Nelson,” said she, “however we may lament 
your absence, offer your services ; they will be ac¬ 
cepted, and you will gain a quiet heart by it: you will 
have a glorious victory, and then you may return here, 
and be happy.” lie looked at her with tears in his 
eyes :—“ Brave Emma !—Good Emma !—If there 
were more Emmas there would he more Nelsons.” 

His services were as willingly accepted as they 
were offered ; and Lord Barham, giving him the 
list of the navy, desired him to choose his own 
officers.” “ Choose yourself, my lord,” was his 
reply : “ the same spirit actuates the whole pro¬ 
fession : you cannot choose wrong.” Lord Barham 
then desired him to say what ships, and how many, 
he would wish, in addition to the fleet which he 
was going to command, and said they should follow 
him as soon as each was ready. No appointment 
was ever more in unison with the feelings and judg¬ 
ment of the whole nation. They, like Lady Hamil¬ 
ton, thought that the destruction of the combined 
fleets ought properly to be Nelson’s work; that he, 
who had been, 


“ Half around the sea-girt ball, 
The hunter of the recreant Gaul 


* Songs of Trafalgar. 





LIFE OF NELSON. 


1605.] LIFE OF NELSON. 321 

ought to reap the spoils of the chase which he had 
watched so long, and so perseveringly pursued. 

Unremitting exertions were made to equip the 
ships which he had chosen, and especially to refit 
the Victory, which was once more to bear his flag. 
Before he left London he called at his upholsterers, 
where the coffin which Capt. Hallowell had given 
him was depositedand desired that its history 
might he engraven upon the lid, saying, that it was 
highly probable he might w r ant it on his return. He 
seemed, indeed, to have been impressed with an 
expectation that he should fall in the battle. In a 
letter to his brother, written immediately after his 
return, he had said : “ We must not talk of Sir 
Robert Calder’s battle—I might not have done so 
much with my small force. If I had fallen in with 
them, you might probably have been a lord before 
I wished ; for I know they meant to make a dead 
set at the Victory.” Nelson had once regarded the 
prospect of death with gloomy satisfaction : it w r as 
when he anticipated the upbraidings of his wife, 
and the displeasure of his venerable father. The 
state of his feelings now was expressed, in his pri¬ 
vate journal, in these words :—“ Friday night, 
(Sept. 13), at half-past ten, I drove from dear, dear 
Merton ; wdiere I left all which I hold dear in this 
world, to go to serve my king and country. May 
the great God, whom I adore, enable me to fulfil 
the expectations of my conntry ! and if it is his 
good pleasure that I should return, my thanks will 
never cease being offered up to the throne of his 
mercy. If it is his good providence to cut short my 
days upon earth, I bow with the greatest sub¬ 
mission ; relying that he will protect those so dear 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


322 


[ 1805 . 


to me, whom I may leave behind ! His will be 
done. Amen! Amen! Amen!” 

Early on the following morning he reached Ports¬ 
mouth ; and having despatched his business on 
shore, endeavoured to elude the populace by taking 
a by-way to the beach ; but a crowd collected in 
his train, pressing forward, to obtain a sight of his 
face : many were in tears, and many knelt down 
before him, and blessed him as he passed. England 
has had many heroes ; but never one who so en¬ 
tirely possessed the love of his fellow-countrymen 
as Nelson. All men knew that his heart was as 
humane as it was fearless; that there was not in 
his nature the slightest alloy of selfishness or cu¬ 
pidity ; but that, with perfect and entire devotion, 
he served his country with all his heart, and with 
all his soul, and with all his strength ; and, there¬ 
fore, they loved him as truly 'and as fervently as he 
loved England. They pressed upon the parapet, to 
gaze after him when his barge pushed off, and he 
was returning their cheers by waving his hat. The 
sentinels, who endeavoured to prevent them from 
trespassing upon this ground, were wedged among 
the crow’d ; and an officer, who, not very prudently 
upon such an occasion, ordered them to drive the 
people down with their bayonets, was compelled 
speedily to retreat; for the people w T ould not be 
debarred from gazing, till the last moment, upon 
the hero—the darling hero of England ! 

He arrived off Cadiz on the 29tli of September 
—his birthday. Fearing that, if the enemy knew 
his force, they might be deterred from venturing to 
sea, he kept out of sight of land, desired Colling- 
wood to fire no salute, and hoist no colours; and 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1805.]] LIFE OF NELSON. 323 

wrote to Gibraltar, to request that the force of the 
fleet might not be inserted there in the Gazette. 
His reception in the Mediterranean fleet was as 
gratifying as the farewell of his countrymen at 
Portsmouth : the officers who came on board to 
welcome him, forgot his rank as commander, in 
their joy at seeing him again. On the day of his 
arrival, Villeneuve received orders to put to sea the 
first opportunity. Villeneuve, however, hesitated, 
when he heard that Nelson had resumed the com¬ 
mand. He called a council of war; and their 
determination was, that it would not be expedient 
to leave Cadiz, unless they had reason to believe 
themselves stronger by one-third than the British 
force. In the public measures of this country se- 
cresy is seldom practicable, and seldomer attempted, 
here, however, by the precautions of Nelson, and 
the wise measures of the admiralty, the enemy 
were for onco kept in ignorance; for as the ships 
appointed to reinforce the Mediterranean fleet were 
despatched singly, each as soon as it was ready,— 
their collected number was not stated in the news¬ 
papers, and their arrival was not known to the 
enemy. But the enemy knew that Admiral Louis, 
with six sail, had been detached for stores and 
water to Gibraltar. Accident also contributed to 
make the French Admiral doubt whether Nelson 
himself had actually taken the command. An 
American, lately arrived from England, maintained 
that it was impossible,—for he had seen him only 
a few days before in London; and, at that time, 
there was no rumour of his going again to sea. 

The station which Nelson had chosen was some 
fifty or sixty miles to the west of Cadiz, near Cape 

y 2 


321 LIFE OF NELSON. [lS05. 

St. Mary’s. At this distance he hoped to decoy 
the enemy out, while he guarded against the dan¬ 
ger of being caught with a westerly wind near 
Cadiz, and driven within the Straits. The block¬ 
ade of the port was rigorously enforced, in hopes 
that the combined fleet might be forced to sea by 
want. The Danish vessels, therefore, which were 
carrying provisions from the French ports in the bay, 
under the name of Danish property, to all the little 
ports from Ayamonte to Algeziras, from whence they 
were conveyed in coasting boats to Cadiz, were 
seized. Without this proper exertion of power, the 
blockade would have been rendered nugatory, by 
the advantage thus taken of the neutral flag. The 
supplies from France were thus effectually cut off. 
There was now every indication that the enemy 
would speedily venture out; officers and men were 
in the highest spirits at the prospect of giving them 
a decisive blow; such, indeed, as would put an end 
to all further contest upon the seas. Theatrical 
amusements were performed every evening in most 
of the ships: and God save the King was the 
hymn with which the sports concluded. “ I verily 
believe,” said Nelson (writing on the Gth of Octo¬ 
ber), “that the country will soon be put to some 
expense on my account; either a monument, or 
a new pension and honours; for I have not the 
smallest doubt but that a very few days, almost 
hours, will put us in battle. The success no man 
can insure: but for the fighting them, if they can 
be got at, I pledge myself.—The sooner the better: 
I don’t like to have these things upon my mind.” 

At this time he was not without some cause of 
anxiety: he was in want of frigates,—the eyes of 


I.TFE OF NELSON. 


1805.J I.TFE OF NELSON. 325 

the fleet, as he always called them :—to the want 
of which the enemy before were indebted for their 
escape, and Buonaparte for his arrival in Egypt. 
He had only twenty-three ships,—others were on 
the way,—but they might come too late; and, 
though Nelson never doubted of victory, mere vic¬ 
tory was not what he looked to, he wanted to an¬ 
nihilate the enemy’s fleet. The Carthagena squa¬ 
dron might effect a junction with this fleet on the 
one side ; and on the other it was to be expected 
that a similar attempt would be made by the French 
from Brest; in either case a formidable contingency 
to be apprehended by the blockading force. The 
Rochefort squadron did push out, and had nearly 
caught the Agamemnon and l’Aimable, in their 
way to reinforce the British admiral. Yet Nelson 
at this time weakened his own fleet. He had the 
unpleasant task to perform of sending home Sir 
Robert Calder, whose conduct was to be made the 
subject of a court-martial, in consequence of the 
general dissatisfaction which had been felt and 
expressed at his imperfect victory. Sir Robert 
Calder, and Sir John Orde, Nelson believed to be 
the only two enemies whom he had ever had in his 
profession ;—and, from that sensitive delicacy which 
distinguished him, this made him the more scrupu¬ 
lously anxious to show every possible mark of 
respect and kindness to Sir Robert. Fie wished to 
detain him till after the expected action; when the 
services which he might perform, and the trium¬ 
phant joy which would be excited, would leave no¬ 
thing to be apprehended from an inquiry into the 
previous engagement. Sir Robert, however, whose 
situation was very painful, did not choose to delay 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


326 


[ 1805 . 


a trial, from the result of which he confidently ex¬ 
pected a complete justification : and Nelson, instead 
of sending him home in a frigate, insisted on his 
returning in his own ninety-gun ship ; ill as such a 
ship could at that time be spared. Nothing could 
be more honourable than the feeling by which Nel¬ 
son was influenced; but at such a crisis, it ought not 
to have been indulged. 

On the 9th, Nelson sent Colling wood what he 
called, in his diary, the Nelson-touch. “ I send 
you,” said he, “ my plan of attack, as far as a man 
dare venture to guess at the very uncertain position 
the enemy may be found in: but it is to place you 
perfectly at ease respecting my intentions, and to 
give full scope to your judgment for carrying them 
into effect. We can, my dear Coll, have no little 
jealousies. We have only one great object in view, 
that of annihilating our enemies, and getting a 
glorious peace for our country. No man has more 
confidence in another than I have in you; and no 
man will render your services more justice than 
your very old friend Nelson and Bronte.” The 
order of sailing was to be the order of battle : the 
fleet in two lines, with an advanced squadron of 
eight of the fastest sailing two-deckers. The second 
in command, having the entire direction of his line, 
was to break through the enemy, about the twelfth 
ship from their rear : he would lead through the 
centre, and the advanced squadron was to cut 
off three or four ahead of the centre. This plan 
was to be adapted to the strength of the enemy, so 
that they should always be one-fourth superior to 
those whom they cut off. Nelson said, “ That his 
admirals and captains, knowing his precise object 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1805 . J 


327 


to be that of a close and decisive action, would 
supply any deficiency of signals, and act accord- * 
ingly. In case signals cannot be seen or clearly 
understood, no captain can do wrong if he places 
his ship alongside that of an enemy.” One of the 
last orders of this admirable man was, that the 
name and family of every officer, seaman, and ma¬ 
rine, who might be killed or wounded in action, 
should be, as soon as possible, returned to him, in 
order to be transmitted to the chairman of the pa¬ 
triotic fund, that the case might be taken into con¬ 
sideration, for the benefit of the sufferer, or his 
family. 

About half-past nine in the morning of the 19th, 
the Mars, being the nearest to the fleet of the ships 
which formed the line of communication with the 
frigates in shore, repeated the signal, that the enemy 
were coming out of port. The wind was at this 
time very light, with partial breezes, mostly from 
the S. S. W. Nelson ordered the signal to be made 
for a chase in the south-east quarter. About two, 
the repeating ships announced, that the enemy were 
at sea. All night the British fleet continued under 
all sail, steering to the south-east. At daybreak 
they were in the entrance of the Straits, but the 
enemy were not in sight. About seven, one of the 
frigates made signal that the enemy were bearing 
north. Upon this the Victory hove to ; and shortly 
afterwards Nelson made sail again to the north¬ 
ward. In the afternoon the wind blew fresh from 
the south-west, and the English began to fear that 
the foe might be forced to return to port. A little 
before sunset, however, Blackwood, in the Euryalus, 
telegraphed, that they appeared determined to go 


328 LIFE OF NELSON. [[1805. 

to the westward,— u And that,” said the admiral, 
in his diary, “ they shall not do, if it is in the 
power of Nelson and Bronte to prevent them.” 
Nelson had signified to Blackwood, that he de¬ 
pended upon him to keep sight of the enemy. 
They were observed so well, that all their motions 
were made known to him ; and, as they wore twice, 
he inferred that they were aiming to keep the port 
of Cadiz open, and would retreat there as soon as 
they saw the British fleet: for this reason he was 
very careful not to approach near enough to be 
seen by them during the night. At daybreak the 
combined fleets were distinctly seen from the Vic¬ 
tory’s deck, formed in a close line of battle ahead, 
on the starboard tack, about twelve miles to lee¬ 
ward, and standing to the south. Our fleet con¬ 
sisted of twenty-seven sail of the line, and four 
frigates; theirs of thirty-three, and seven large 
frigates. Their superiority was greater in size, and 
weight of metal, than in numbers. They had four 
thousand troops on board ; and the best riflemen 
who could be procured, many of them Tyrolese, 
were dispersed through the ships. Little did the 
Tyrolese, and little did the Spaniards, at that day, 
imagine what horrors the wicked tyrant whom they 
served was preparing for their country. 

Soon after daylight Nelson came upon deck. 
The 21st of October was a festival in his family, 
because on that day his uncle, Captain Suckling, in 
the Dreadnought, with two other line-of-battle ships, 
had beaten off a French squadron of four sail of 
the line, and three frigates. Nelson, with that 
sort of superstition from which few persons are 
entirely exempt, had more than once expressed 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1S05.]] LIFE OF NELSON. 329 

his persuasion that this was to be the day of his 
battle also; and he was well pleased at seeing his 
prediction about to be verified. The wind was now 
from the west, light breezes, with a long heavy 
swell. Signal was made to bear down upon the 
enemy in two lines; and the fleet set all sail. 
Collingwood, in the Royal Sovereign, led the lee 
line of thirteen ships; the Victory led the weather 
line of fourteen. Having seen that all was as it 
should be, Nelson retired to his cabin, and wrote 
the following prayer: 


“ May the great God, whom I worship, grant to 
my country, and for the benefit of Europe in ge¬ 
neral, a great and glorious victory, and may no 
misconduct in any one tarnish it; and may huma¬ 
nity after victory be the predominant feature in the 
British fleet! For myself individually, I commit 
my life to Him that made me; and may his bless¬ 
ing alight on my endeavours for serving my coun¬ 
try faithfully! To Him I resign myself, and the 
just cause which is entrusted to me to defend, 
Amen ! Amen ! Amen !” 


Having thus discharged his devotional duties, ha 
annexed, in the same diary, the following remark¬ 
able writing : 

“ October 21, 1805 .—Then in sight of the com¬ 
bined fleets of France and /Spain, distant about 
ten miles. 

“ Whereas the eminent services of Emma Ha¬ 
milton, widow of the Right Honourable Sir Wil¬ 
liam Hamilton, have been of the very greatest 
service to my king and country, to my knowledge, 


330 LIFE OF NELSON. Ql805. 

without ever receiving any reward from either our 
king or country. 

“ First, that she obtained the King of Spain’s 
letter, in 1796, to his brother, the King of Naples, 
acquainting him of his intention to declare war 
against England; from which letter the ministry 
sent out orders to the then Sir John Jervis to strike 
a stroke, if opportunity offered, against either the 
arsenals of Spain or her fleets. That neither of 
these was done is not the fault of Lady Hamilton; 
the opportunity might have been offered. 

“ Secondly: The British fleet under my com¬ 
mand could never have returned the second time 
to Egypt, had not Lady Hamilton’s influence with 
the Queen of Naples caused letters to be wrote to 
the governor of Syracuse, that he was to encourage 
the fleet’s being supplied with everything, should 
they put into any port in Sicily. W e put into Sy¬ 
racuse, and received every supply; went to Egypt, 
and destroyed the French fleet. 

“ Could I have rewarded these services, I would 
not now call upon my country; but as that has not 
been in my power, I leave Emma Lady Hamilton 
therefore a legacy to my king and country, that 
they will give her an ample provision to maintain 
her rank in life. 

44 I also leave to the beneficence of my country 
my adopted daughter, Horatia Nelson Thomson; 
and I desire she will use in future the name of 
Nelson only. 

44 These are the only favours I ask of my king 
and country, at this moment when I am going to 
fight their battle. May God bless my king and 
country, and all those I hold dear! My relations 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1805 .] 


331 


it is needless to mention; they will, of course, be 
amply provided for. 


“ NELSON and BRONTE. 



The child of whom this writing speaks was be¬ 
lieved to be his daughter, and so, indeed, he called 
her the last time that he pronounced her name. 
She was then about five years old, living at Mer¬ 
ton, under Lady Hamilton’s care. The last mi¬ 
nutes which Nelson passed at Merton were em¬ 
ployed in praying over this child, as she lay sleep¬ 
ing. A portrait of Lady Hamilton hung in his 
cabin: and no Catholic ever beheld the picture of 
his patron saint with devouter reverence. The 
undisguised and romantic passion with which he 
regarded it amounted almost to superstition; and 
when the portrait was now taken down, in clearing 
for action, he desired the men who removed it, to 
“ take care of his guardian angel.” In this man¬ 
ner he frequently spoke of it, as if he believed 
there were a virtue in the image. He wore a mi¬ 
niature of her, also, next his heart. 

Blackwood went on board the Victory about 
six. He found him in good spirits, but very 
calm ; not in that exhilaration which he had felt 
upon entering into battle at Aboukir and Copen¬ 
hagen : he knew that his own life would be 
particularly aimed at, and seems to have looked 
for death with almost as sure an expectation as for 
victory. His whole attention was fixed upon the 
enemy. They tacked to the northward, and formed 
their line on the larboard tack; thus bringing the 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


332 


[1S05. 


shoals of Trafalgar and St. Pedro under the lee of 
the British, and keeping the port of Cadiz open 
for themselves. This was judiciously done: and 
Nelson, aware of all the advantages which it gave 
them, made signal to prepare to anchor. 

Villeneuve was a skilful seaman : worthy of serv¬ 
ing a better master, and a better cause. His plan 
of defence was as well conceived, and as original, 
as the plan of attack. He formed the fleet in a 
double line; every alternate ship being about a 
cable’s length to windward of her second ahead 
and astern. Nelson, certain of a triumphant issue 
to the day, asked Blackwood what he should con¬ 
sider as a victory. That officer answered, that, 
considering the handsome way in which battle was 
offered by the enemy, their apparent determination 
for a fair trial of strength, and the situation of the 
land, he thought it would be a glorious result if 
fourteen were captured. He replied: “ I shall 

not be satisfied with less than twenty.” Soon af¬ 
terwards he asked him, if he did not think there 
was a signal wanting. Capt. Blackwood made an¬ 
swer, that he thought the whole fleet seemed very 
clearly to understand what they were about. These 
words were scarcely spoken before that signal was 
made, which will be remembered as long as the 
language, or even the memory, of England shall 
endure;—Nelson’s last signal: — u England ex¬ 
pects EVERY MAN TO DO HIS DUTY !” It Was 
received throughout the fleet with a shout of an¬ 
swering acclamation, made sublime by the spirit 
which it breathed, and the feeling which it ex¬ 
pressed. “ Now,” said Lord Nelson, “ I can do 
no more. We must trust to the great Disposer of 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1805.J 


333 


all events, and the iustice of our cause. I thank God 
for this great opportunity of doing my duty.” 

He wore that day, as usual, his admiral’s frock 
coat, bearing on the left breast four stars, of the 
different orders with which he was invested. Orna¬ 
ments which rendered him so conspicuous a mark 
for the enemy, were beheld with ominous apprehen¬ 
sions by his officers. It was known that there were 
riflemen on board the French ships; and it could 
not be doubted but that his life would be particu¬ 
larly aimed at. They communicated their fears to 
each other; and the surgeon, Mr. Beatty*, spoke to 
the chaplain. Dr. Scott, and to Mr. Scott, the 
public secretary, desiring that some person would 
entreat him to change his dress, or cover the stars : 
but they knew that such a request would highly 
displease him. “ In honour I gained them,” he 
had said, when such a thing had been hinted to 
him formerly, u and in honour I will die with them.” 
Mr. Beatty, however, would not have been deterred 
by any fear of exciting his displeasure, from speak ¬ 
ing to hi*n himself upon a subject, in which the 
weal of England, as well as the life of Nelson, was 
concerned,—but he was ordered from the deck 
before he could find an opportunity. This was a 
point upon which Nelson’s officers knew that it 
was hopeless to remonstrate or reason with him ; 
but both Blackwood, and his own captain, Hardy, 
represented to him how advantageous to the fleet it 
would be for him to keep out of action as long as 
possible ; and he consented at last to let the Levia- 


* In this part of the work I have chiefly been indebted to this 
gentleman’s Narrative of Lord Nelson’s Death—a document as in¬ 
teresting as it is authentic. 





334 LIFE OF NELSON. []l805, 

than and the IVmeraire, which were sailing abreast 
of the Victory, he ordered to pass ahead. Yet even 
here the last infirmity of this noble mind was in¬ 
dulged, for these ships could not pass ahead if the 
Victory continued to carry all her sail; and so far 
was Nelson from shortening sail, that it was evident 
he took pleasure in pressing on, and rendering it 
impossible for them to obey his own orders. A 
long swell was setting into the bay of Cadiz: our 
ships, crowding all sail, moved majestically before 
it, with light winds from the south-west. The sun 
shone on the sails of the enemy; and their well-formed 
line, with their numerous three-deckers, made an 
appearance which any other assailants would have 
thought formidable;—but the British sailors only 
admired the beauty and the splendour of the spec¬ 
tacle ; and, in full confidence of winning what they 
saw, remarked to each other, what a fine sight 
yonder ships would make at Spithead ! 

The French admiral, from the Bucentaure, beheld 
the new manner in which his enemy was advanc¬ 
ing—Nelson and Collingwood each leading his 
line; and pointing them out to his officers, he is 
said to have exclaimed, that such conduct could 
not fail to be successful. Yet Villeneuve had 
made his own dispositions with the utmost skill, 
and the fleets under his command waited for the 
attack with perfect coolness. Ten minutes before 
twelve they opened their fire. Eight or nine of the 
ships immediately ahead of the Victory, and across 
her bows, fired single guns at her, to ascertain 
whether she was yet within their range. As soon 
as Nelson perceived that their shot passed over 
him, he desired Blackwood, and Captain Browse, of 


1805.] LIFE OF NELSON. 335 

the Sirius, to repair to their respective frigates; 
and, on their way, to tell all the captains of the 
line-of-battle ships that he depended on their exer¬ 
tions ; and that if, by the prescribed mode of attack 
they found it impracticable to get into action im¬ 
mediately, they might adopt whatever they thought 
best, provided it led them quickly and closely along¬ 
side an enemy. As they were standing on the 
front of the poop, Blackwood took him by the 
hand, saying, he hoped soon to return and find 
him in possession of twenty prizes. He replied, 
“ God bless you, Blackwood ; I shall never see you 
again.” 

Nelson’s column was steered about two points 
more to the north than Collingwood’s, in order to 
cut off the enemy’s escape into Cadiz: the lee line, 
therefore, was first engaged. “ See,” cried Nelson, 
pointing to the Royal Sovereign, as she steered 
right for the centre of the enemy’s line, cut through 
it astern of the Santa Anna, three-decker, and 
engaged her at the muzzle of her guns on the star¬ 
board side : “ see how that noble fellow, Colling- 
wood, carries his ship into action ! ” Collingwood, 
delighted at being first in the heat of the fire, and 
knowing the feelings of his commander and old 
friend, turned to his captain, and exclaimed : 
“ Rotherham, what would Nelson give to be here! ” 
Both these brave officers, perhaps, at this moment 
thought of Nelson with gratitude, for a circumstance 
which had occurred on the preceding day. Admiral 
Collingwood, with some of the captains, having 
gone on board the Victory, to receive instructions, 
Nelson inquired of him, where his captain was ? 
and was told, in reply, that they were not upon 


336 


LIFE OF NELSON. £1805. 

o-ood terras with eacli other. u Terms ! ” said 
Kelson;— 44 good terms with each other!” Imme¬ 
diately he sent a boat for Captain Rotherham ; led 
him, as soon as he arrived, to Collingwood ; and say¬ 
ing,— 44 Look ; yonder are the enemy ! ” bade them 
shake hands like Englishmen. 

The enemy continued to fire a gun at a time at 
the Victory, till they saw that a shot had passed 
through her main-top-gallant sail; then they opened 
their broadsides, aiming chiefly at her rigging, in 
the hope of disabling her before she could close 
with them. Nelson, as usual, had hoisted several 
flags, lest one should be shot away. The enemy 
show T ed no colours till late in the action, when they 
began to feel the necessity of having them to strike. 
For this reason, the Santissima Trinidad, Nelson’s 
old acquaintance, as he used to call her, was dis¬ 
tinguishable only by her four decks ; and to the 
bow of this opponent he ordered the Victory to be 
steered. Meantime an incessant raking fire was kept 
up upon the Victory. The admiral’s secretary was 
one of the first who fell; he was killed by a cannon- 
shot while conversing with Hardy. Capt. Adair of 
the marines, with the help of a sailor, endeavoured 
to remove the body from Nelson’s sight, who had a 
great regard for Mr. Scott: but he anxiously asked : 
44 Is that poor Scott that’s gone ?” and being in¬ 
formed that it was indeed so, exclaimed : 44 Poor 
fellow !” Presently, a double-headed shot struck a 
party of marines, who were drawn up on the poop, 
and killed eight of them : upon which Nelson im¬ 
mediately desired Capt. Adair to disperse his men 
round the ship, that they might not suffer so much 
from being together. A few minutes afterwards a 


1805.] LIFE OF NELSON. 337 

shot struck the fore-brace bits on the quarter-deck, 
and passed between Nelson and Hardy, a splinter 
from the bit tearing off Hardy’s buckle, and bruising 
his foot. Both stopped, and looked anxiously at 
each other, each supposed the other to be wounded. 
Nelson then smiled, and said, “ This is too warm 
work, Hardy, to last long.” 

The Victory had not yet returned a single gun; 
fifty of her men had been by this time killed or 
wounded, and her main-top-mast, with all her stud¬ 
ding sails and her booms, shot away. Nelson de¬ 
clared, that, in all his battles, he had seen nothing 
which surpassed the cool courage of his crew on 
this occasion. At four minutes after twelve, she 
opened her fire from both sides of her deck. It was 
not possible to break the enemy’s line without run¬ 
ning on board one of their ships: Hardy informed 
him of this, and asked him which he wmuld prefer. 
Nelson replied : “ Take your choice, Hardy, it does 
not signify much.” The master was ordered to put 
the helm to port, and the Victory ran on board the 
Redoutable, just as her tiller ropes were shot away. 
The French ship received her with a broadside; then 
instantly let down her lower deck ports, for fear of 
being boarded through them, and never afterwards 
fired a great gun during the action. Her tops, like 
those of all the enemy’s ships, were filled with rifle¬ 
men. Nelson never placed musketry in his tops; 
he had a strong dislike to the practice ; not merely 
because it endangers setting fire to the sails, but also 
because it is a murderous sort of warfare, by which 
individuals may suffer, and a commander now and 
then be picked off, but which never can decide the 
fate of a general engagement. 


338 LTFE OF NELSON. [1805. 

Captain Iiarvey, in the Temeraire, fell on board 
the Redoutable on the other side. Another enemy 
was in like manner on board the Temeraire; so 
that these four ships formed as compact a tier as if 
they had been moored together, their heads lying 
all the same way. The lieutenants of the Victory, 
seeing this, depressed their guns of the middle and 
lower decks, and fired with a diminished charge, 
lest the shot should pass through, and injure the 
Temeraire. And because there was danger that the 
Redoutable might take tire from the lower-deck 
guns, the muzzles of which touched her side when 
they were run out, the fireman of each gun stood 
ready with a bucket of water ; which, as soon as 
the gun was discharged, he dashed into the hole 
made by the shot. An incessant fire was kept up 
from the Victory from both sides ; her larboard guns 
playing upon the Bucentaure and the huge Santis- 
sima Trinidad. 

It had been part of Nelson’s prayer, that the 
British fleet might be distinguished by humanity in 
the victory which he expected. Setting an ex¬ 
ample himself, he twice gave orders to cease firing 
upon the Redoutable, supposing that she had 
struck, because her great guns were silent; for, as 
she carried no flag, there was no means of instantly 
ascertaining the fact. From this ship, which he 
had thus twice spared, he received his death. A 
ball fired from her mizen-top, which, in the then 
situation of the two vessels, was not more than fif¬ 
teen yards from that part of the deck where he was 
standing, struck the epaulette on his left shoulder, 
about a quarter after one, just in the heat of action. 
He fell upon his face, on the spot which was co- 


1805 ] 


LIFE OF NELSON 


339 








































I 

/ 



















LIFE OF NELSON. 


1805.] 


341 


vered with his poor secretary’s blood. Hardy, who 
was a few steps from him, turning round, saw three 
men raising him up.—“ They have done for me at 
last, Hardy,” said he.—“ I hope not,” cried Hardy. 
—“ Yes!” he replied; “ my back-bone is shot 
through.” Yet even now, not for a moment losing 
his presence of mind, he observed, as they were 
carrying him down the ladder, that the tiller ropes, 
which had been shot away, were not yet replaced, 
and ordered that new ones should be rove immedi¬ 
ately :—then, that he might not be seen by the 
crew, he took out his handkerchief, and covered his 
face and his stars. Had he but concealed these 
badges of honour from the enemy, England, per¬ 
haps, would not have had cause to receive with 
sorrow the news of the battle of Trafalgar. The 
cockpit was crowded with wounded and dying men; 
over whose bodies he was with some difficulty con¬ 
veyed, and laid upon a pallet in the midshipmen’s 
berth. It was soon perceived, upon examination, 
that the wound was mortal. This, however, was 
concealed from all except Captain Hardy, the chap¬ 
lain, and the medical attendants. He himself being 
certain, from the sensation in his back, and the 
gush of blood he felt momently within his breast, 
that no human care could avail him, insisted that 
the surgeon should leave him, and attend to those 
to whom he might be useful; “ For,” said he, 
“ you can do nothing for me.”—All that could be 
done was to fan him with paper, and frequently to 
give him lemonade to alleviate his intense thirst. 
He was in great pain, and expressed much anxiety 
for the event of the action, which now began to 
declare itself. As often as a ship struck, the crew 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


34*2 


[1805 


of the Victory hurraed ; and at every hurra, a visi 
ble expression of joy gleamed in the eyes, and 
marked the countenance of the dying hero. But 
he became impatient to see Capt. Hardy; and as 
that officer, though often sent for, could not leave 
the deck, Nelson feared that some fatal cause pre¬ 
vented him, and repeatedly cried : “ Will no one 
bring Hardy to me ? He must be killed ! He is 
surely dead!”—An hour and ten minutes elapsed 
from the time when Nelson received his wound, 
before Hardy could come to him. They shook 
hands in silence; Hardy in vain struggling to sup¬ 
press the feelings of that most painful and yet 
sublimest moment. “Well, Hardy,” said Nelson, 
“ how goes the day with us ?”—“ Very well,” re¬ 
plied Hardy; “ ten ships have struck, but five of 
the van have tacked, and show an intention to bear 
down upon the Victory. I have called two or three 
of our fresh ships round, and have no doubt of 
giving them a drubbing.”—“ I hope,” said Nelson, 
“ none of our ships have struck ?” Hardy answered, 
u There was no fear of that.” Then, and not till 
then, Nelson spoke of himself. “ I am a dead man. 
Hardy,” said he : “I am going fast: it will be all 
over with me soon. Come nearer to me. Let my 
dear Lady Hamilton have my hair, and all other 
things belonging to me.” Hardy observed, that he 
hoped Mr. Beatty could yet hold out some prospect 
of life. “ Oh, no !” he replied : “ it is impossible. 
My back is shot through. Beatty will tell you so.” 
Capt. Hardy then, once more, shook hands with 
him; and, with a heart almost bursting, hastened 
upon deck. 

By this time all feeling below the breast was 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1805.] LIFE OF NELSON. 343 

gone; and Nelson, having made the surgeon ascer¬ 
tain this, said to him : 44 You know I am gone, 
I know it. I feel something rising in my breast,” 
—putting his hand on his left side,—“ which tells 
me so.” And upon Beatty’s inquiring whether his 
pain was very great ? he replied, 44 So great, that 
he wished he was dead. Yet,” said he, in a lower 
voice, 44 one would like to live a little longer too 1 ” 
And after a few minutes, in the same under tone, 
he added— 44 What would become of poor Lady 
Hamilton, if she knew my situation ! ” Next to his 
country she occupied his thoughts. Captain Hardy, 
some fifty minutes after he had left the cockpit, 
returned; and, again taking the hand of his dying 
friend and commander, congratulated him on hav- 
ing gained a complete victory. How many of the 
enemy were taken he did not know, as it was im¬ 
possible to perceive them distinctly ; but fourteen 
or fifteen at least. 44 That’s well,” cried Nelson, 
44 but I bargained for twenty.” And then, in a 
stronger voice, he said: 44 Anchor, Hardy; an¬ 
chor.” Hardy, upon this, hinted that Admiral 
Collingwood would take upon himself the direction 
of affairs. 44 Not while I live, Hardy,” said the 
dying Nelson, ineffectually endeavouring to raise 
himself from the bed: 44 Do you anchor.” His 
previous order for preparing to anchor had shown 
how clearly he foresaw the necessity of this. Pre¬ 
sently, calling Hardy back, he said to him in a 
low voice, 44 Don’t throw me overboard and he 
desired that he might be buried by his parents, 
unless it should please the king to order otherwise. 
Then reverting to private feelings: 44 Take care of 
my dear Lady Hamilton, Hardy: take care of poor 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


344 LIFE OF NELSON. Qi805. 

Lady Hamilton. — Kiss me, Hardy,” said he. Hardy 
knelt down and kissed his cheek : and Nelson said, 
44 Now I am satisfied. Thank God I have done 
my duty. 5 ’ Hardy stood over him in silence for a 
moment or two, then knelt again and kissed his 
forehead. 44 Who is that?” said Nelson; and being 
informed, he replied, 44 God bless you, Hardy.” 
And Hardy then left him—for ever. 

Nelson now desired to be turned upon his right 
side, and said, 44 I wish I had not left the deck for 
I shall soon be gone.’* Death was, indeed, rapidly 
approaching. He said to the chaplain, 44 Doctor, 
I have not been a great sinner and after a short 
pause, 44 Remember that I leave Lady Hamilton 
and my daughter Horatia as a legacy to my 
country.” His articulation now became difficult ; 
but he was distinctly heard to say, 44 Thank God, 
I have done my duty.” These words he repeatedly 
pronounced; and they were the last words which 
he uttered. He expired at thirty minutes after four, 
—three hours and a quarter after he had received 
his wound. 

Within a quarter of an hour after Nelson was 
wounded, above fifty of the Victory’s men fell by 
the enemy’s musketry. They, however, on their 
part, were not idle; and it was not long before 
there were only two Frenchmen left alive in the 
mizen-top of the Redoutable. One of them was 
the man who had given the fatal wound: he did 
not live to boast of what he had done. An old 
quarter-master had seen him fire; and easily re¬ 
cognised him, because he wore a glazed cocked 
hat and a white frock. This quarter-master and 
two midshipmen, Mr. Collingwood and Mr. Pol- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1805.] 


345 


lard, were the only persons left in the Victory’s 
poop;—the two midshipmen kept firing at the top, 
and he supplied them with cartridges. One of the 
Frenchmen, attempting to make his escape down 
the rigging, was shot by Mr. Pollard, and fell on 
the poop. But the old quarter-master, as he cried 
out, “ That’s he—that’s he,” and pointed at the 
other, who was coming forward to fire again, re¬ 
ceived a shot in his mouth, and fell dead. Both 
the midshipmen then fired at the same time, and 
the fellow dropped in the top. When they took 
possession of the prize, they went into the mizen- 
top, and found him dead, with one ball through his 
head, and another through his breast. 

The Redoutable struck within twenty minutes 
after the fatal shot had been fired from her. Dur¬ 
ing that time she had been twice on fire,—in her 
fore-chains and in her forecastle. The French, 
as they had done in other battles, made use in 
this, of fire-balls and other combustibles; imple¬ 
ments of destruction which other nations, from a 
sense of honour and humanity, have laid aside; 
which add to the sufferings of the wounded, with¬ 
out determining the issue of the combat: which 
none but the cruel would employ, and which never 
can be successful against the brave. Once they 
succeeded in setting fire, from the Redoutable, to 
some ropes and canvas on the Victory’s booms. 
The cry ran through the ship, and reached the 
cockpit: but even this dreadful cry produced no 
confusion : the men displayed that perfect self- 
possession in danger by which English seamen are 
characterised; they extinguished the flames on 
board their own ship, and then hastened to extin- 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


346 


[1305. 


guisli them in the enemy, by throwing buckets of 
water from the gangway. When the Redoutable 
nad struck, it was not practicable to board her 
from the Victory; for, though the two ships touched, 
the upper works of both fell in so much, that there 
was a great space between their gangways ; and 
she could not be boarded from the lower or middle 
decks, because her ports were down. Some of 
our men went to Lieutenant Quilliam, and offered 
to swim under her bows,and get up there; but it was 
thought unfit to hazard brave lives in this manner. 

What our men would have done from gallantry, 
some of the crew of the Santissima Trinidad did to 
save themselves. Unable to stand the tremendous 
fire of the Victory, whose larboard guns played 
against this great four-decker, and not knowing 
how else to escape them, nor where else to betake 
themselves for protection, many of them leaped 
overboard, and swam to the Victory; and were 
actually helped up her sides by the English during 
the action. The Spaniards began the battle with 
less vivacity than their unworthy allies, but they 
continued it with greater firmness. The Argonauta 
and Bahama were defended till they had each lost 
about four hundred men; the San Juan Nepomu- 
«eno lost three hundred and fifty. Often as the 
superiority of British courage has been proved 
against France upon the seas, it was never more 
conspicuous than in this decisive conflict. Five of 
our ships were engaged muzzle to muzzle with five 
of the French. In all five the Frenchmen lowered 
their lower-deck ports, and deserted their guns; 
while our men continued deliberately to load and 
fire, till they had made the victory secure. 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1805.] LIFE OF NELSON. 347 

Once, amidst his sufferings, Nelson had ex¬ 
pressed a wish that he were dead ; but immediately 
the spirit subdued the pains of death, and he wished 
to live a little longer;—doubtless that he might 
hear the completion of the victory which he had 
seen so gloriously begun. That consolation—that 
joy—that triumph, was afforded him. He lived to 
know that the victory was decisive; and the last 
guns which were fired at the flying enemy were 
heard a minute or two before lie expired. The 
ships which were thus flying were four of the 
enemy’s van, all French, under Rear-Admiral Du- 
manoir. They had borne no part in the action ; 
and now, when they were seeking safety in flight, 
they fired not only into the Victory and Royal 
Sovereign as they passed, hut poured their broad¬ 
sides into the Spanish captured ships ; and they 
were seen to back their top-sails, for the purpose 
of firing with more precision. The indignation of 
the Spaniards at this detestable cruelty from their 
allies, for whom they had fought so bravely, and so 
profusely bled, may well be conceived. It was 
such, that when, two days after the action, seven 
of the ships which had escaped into Cadiz came 
out, in hopes of retaking some of the disabled 
prizes, the prisoners, in the Argonauta, in a body, 
offered their services to the British prize-master, to 
man the guns against any of the French ships: 
saying, that if a Spanish ship came alongside, they 
would quietly go below; but they requested that 
they might be allowed to fight the French, in re¬ 
sentment for the murderous usage which they had 
suffered at their hands. Such was their earnest¬ 
ness, and such the implicit confidence which could 


348 LIFE OF NELSON. []S05 

be placed in Spanish honour, that the offer was 
accepted, and they were actually stationed at the 
lower deck guns. Dumanoir and his squadron 
were not more fortunate than the fleet from whose 
destruction they fled : they fell in with Sir Richard 
Strachan, who was cruising for the Rochefort squad¬ 
ron, and were all taken. In the better days of 
France, if such a crime could then have been 
committed, it would have received an exemplary 
punishment from the French government: under 
Buonaparte, it was sure of impunity, and, perhaps, 
might be thought deserving of reward. But, if the 
Spanish court had been independent, it would 
have become us to have delivered Dumanoir and 
his captains up to Spain, that they might have 
been brought to trial, and hanged in sight of the 
remains of the Spanish fleet. 

The total British loss in the battle of Trafalgar 
amounted to one thousand five hundred and eighty- 
seven. Twenty of the enemy struck ; but it was 
not possible* to anchor the fleet, as Nelson had en¬ 
joined ;—a gale came on from the south-west : some 
of the prizes went down, some went on shore; one ef- 


* In the former editions it was said that unhappily the fleet 
did not anchor : implying an opinion that Nelson's orders 
ought to have been followed by his successor. From the re¬ 
cently published Memoirs and Correspondence of Lord Colling- 
wood, it appears that this was not practicable, and that if it had, 
and had been done, the consequences, from the state of the 
weather (which Nelson could not foresee), would, in all like¬ 
lihood, have been more disastrous than they were. 

Having thus referred to Lord Collingwood’s Life, I may be 
allowed to say, that the publication of that volume is, indeed, 
a national good ; it ought to be in every officer’s cabin, and 
in every statesman’s cabinet. 



LIFE OF NELSON. 


1805.] 


349 


fected its escape into Cadiz; others were destroyed ; 
four only were saved, and those by the greatest exer¬ 
tions. The wounded Spaniards were sent ashore, 
an assurance being given that they should not serve 
till regularly exchanged; and the Spaniards, with a 
generous feeling, which would not, perhaps, have 
been found in any other people, offered the use ot 
their hospitals for our wounded, pledging the honour 
of Spain that they should be carefully attended 
there. When the storm, after the action, drove 
some of the prizes upon the coast, they declared 
that the English, who were thus thrown into their 
hands, should not be considered as prisoners of 
war; and the Spanish soldiers gave up their own 
beds to their shipwrecked enemies. The Spanish 
vice-admiral, Alva, died of his wounds. Ville- 
neuve was sent to England, and permitted to return 
to France. The French government say that he 
destroyed himself on the way to Paris, dreading 
the consequences of a court-martial: but there is 
every reason to believe that the tyrant, who never 
acknowledged the loss of the battle of Trafalgar, 
added Yilleneuve to the numerous victims of his 
murderous policy. 

It is almost superfluous to add, that all the 
honours which a grateful country could bestow were 
heaped upon the memory of Nelson. His brother 
was made an earl, with a grant of £6000 a year; 
£10,000 were voted to each of his sisters: and 
£100,000 for the purchase of an estate. A public 
funeral was decreed, and a public monument. 
Statues and monuments also were voted by most of 
our principal cities. The leaden coffin in which ho 


350 LIFE OF NELSON. £1805 

was brought home was cut in pieces, which were 
distributed as relics of Saint Nelson,—so the gunner 
of the Victory called them ;—and when, at his inter¬ 
ment, his flag was about to be lowered into the 
grave, the sailors who assisted at the ceremony with 
one accord rent it in pieces, that each might preserve 

a fragment while he lived. 

© _ 

The death of Nelson was felt in England as 

something more than a public calamity; men 
started at the intelligence, and turned pale, as if 
they had heard of the loss of' a dear friend. An 
object of our admiration and affection, of our 
pride and of our hopes, was suddenly taken from 
us ; and it seemed as if we had never, till then, 
known how deeply we loved and reverenced him. 
What the country had lost in its great naval hero— 
the greatest of our own, and of all former times, 
was scarcely taken into the account of grief. So 
perfectly, indeed, had he performed his part, that 
the maritime war, after the battle of Trafalgar, was 
considered at an end : the fleets of the enemy were 
not merely defeated, but destroyed: new navies 
must be built, and a new race of seamen reared for 
them, before the possibility of their invading our 
shores could again be contemplated. It was not, 
therefore, from any selfish reflection upon the mag¬ 
nitude of our loss that we mourned for him : the 
general sorrow was of a higher character. The 
people of England grieved that funeral ceremonies, 
and public monuments, and posthumous rewards, 
were all which they could now bestow upon him, 
whom the king, the legislature, and the nation, 
would have alike delighted to honour; whom every 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


1805.] LIFE OF NELSON. 351 

tongue would have blessed; whose presence in every 
village through which lie might have passed would 
have wakened the church bells, have given school¬ 
boys a holiday, have drawn children from their 
sports to gaze upon him, and “ old men from the 
chimney corner,” to look upon Nelson ere they died. 
The victory of Trafalgar was celebrated, indeed, with 
the usual forms of rejoicing, but they were without 
joy; for such already was the glory of the British 
navy, through Nelson’s surpassing genius, that it 
scarcely seemed to receive any addition from the 
most signal victory that ever was achieved upon the 
seas: and the destruction of this mighty fleet, by 
which all the maritime schemes of France were 
totally frustrated, hardly appeared to add to our 
security or strength ; for, while Nelson was living, 
to watch the combined squadrons of the enemy, we 
felt ourselves as secure as now, when they were no 
longer in existence. 

There was reason to suppose, from the appear¬ 
ances upon opening the body, that, in the course of 
nature, he might have attained, like his father, to a 
good old age. Yet he cannot be said to have fallen 
prematurely whose work was done; nor ought he to 
be lamented, who died so full of honours, and at the 
height of human fame. The most triumphant death 
is that of the martyr; the most awful that of the 
martyred patriot; the most splendid that of the 
hero in the hour of victory: and if the chariot and 
the horses of fire had been vouchsafed for Nelson’s 
translation, he could scarcely have departed in a 
brighter blaze of glory. He has left us, not indeed 
his mantle of inspiration, but a name and an example, 


352 


LIFE OF NELSON. 


[1805. 

which are at this hour inspiring thousands of the 
J r outh of England : a name which is our pride, and 
*m example which will continue to be our shield and 
our strength. Thus it is that the spirits of the great 
and the wise continue to live and to act after them ; 
verifying, in this sense, the language of the old 
mythologist : 

Tol fxev dal/Aoves el(Tt, A ibs fxsy&Xov Sic i /3ouAas, 

’Eo'flAoi, tmxOovioi., <pv\aices Qt]vt&v avOpunrav. 


THE END; 


J. HADDON AND SON, rRINTERS, CASTLE STREET, FINSBURY. 

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